


Our Tears Will Make Us Stronger

by JeanneRiddle



Series: Through Adversity [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Akumatized Ladybug, Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Angst, Corruption, F/M, I'm Sorry, Identity Reveal, Injury, Kidnapping, Minor Character Death, Poor Adrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-18 02:53:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14203485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeanneRiddle/pseuds/JeanneRiddle
Summary: After falling ill, Chat Noir can't protect Ladybug. The spotted heroine falls in battle and Marinette vanishes. Adrien dedicates all of his spare time trying to find her. But what happens when he has to face akumas and protect Paris on his own?





	1. Black Diamond

**Author's Note:**

> For starters, I just wanted to apologize ahead of time for all of the pain we're going to go through together. I am so sorry but I promise it will be cute eventually.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's some amazing artwork done by AJBanks based on my description of Black Diamond. I hope you enjoy it.  
> https://artbanks.deviantart.com/art/Black-Diamond-747618523

Luck. That was all it was. The risk, the gamble, the adrenaline, the losses, but especially the wins... all of it was all so very addictive. Victor Joueur found himself playing everything from roulet to poker and the reason he loved it was because it made him feel alive. He was doing great; up four thousand euros and feeling unbeatable. It was a showdown for the ages as the dealer revealed the last of the five cards. A Jack of Spades, Queen of Spades, and King of Spades, as well as one eight of Hearts, were face up on the table. And in Victor's hand was an Ace of Spades, and a ten of Spades. He'd gone all in, knowing that he already had a royal flush on lock. He couldn't believe his luck. Nearly sixteen thousand euros in chips had been placed in the pot and it was only him and the last opponent at the table.

He hadn't bothered to learn his opponent's name, too focused on the game to care about such an unimportant detail. He hadn't gone all in until his opponent had. Whatever he had, it couldn't beat the Royal Flush he was about to achieve, though his opponent did seem rather confident in himself. The second it took for the dealer to flip the last card felt like an eternity, but the moments after seemed even longer. On the table, face up, was an Ace of Spades. He glanced down at his hand again. Maybe he had hallucinated his hand? An Ace of Spades and a ten of Spades gleamed in his hand. His eyes shot back to the last card on the table. Maybe that was the one he had seen wrong.

"Ace of Spades." announced the dealer, obviously feeling giddy about the line-up of cards he had revealed. It was easy to tell that he was new to this job, and it was quite possible that this was his first chance at witnessing a possible Royal Flush. There was no way that two Ace of Spades were in the deck. And Victor wasn't a cheater and he had always been incredibly proud of that. So how could this possibly happen? "Since neither of you have any chips left, the only option either of you have is to fold or check. Gentlemen?"

"Fold." Victor said bitterly, tears coming to the corners of his eyes. He couldn't check. He'd be made to look like a cheater and his reputation in the casino would shrivel into nothing, assuming he was even allowed back. 

"Simon, would you reveal your hand, please?" the dealer asked Victor's opponent. Victor looked eagerly at the cards as 'Simon' revealed them. A four of Diamonds and an eight of Clubs. Such pathetic cards and yet, Victor had lost. He stood up abruptly, forcing a smile onto his face as he bit back tears. He offered his hand across the table to shake his opponent's, and Simon returned the gesture. 

The dealer had picked up Victor's hand of cards and turned it to look at it. He frowned, glancing between the two Aces of Spades. He looked up at Victor with a scowl. "You cheated."

"I-I didn't. I swear. Those were the cards that were dealt to me." 

"Monsieur, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ban you from our casino." The dealer said firmly, pointing to the door. He aggressively handed the ace that Victor had had back to him. "Please leave on your own accord, before I call security to escort you out."

The tears that Victor had been holding back flowed freely and he ran through the crowded tables and out of the door. He found a nearby alley and began sobbing freely, and staring at the ace miserably.

* * *

Adrien's eyes fluttered open and he grimaced. It was too bright. He groaned softly, as he stretched and immediately regretted it. His throat felt like he had swallowed a bowl full of gravel and his body felt sore. He sat up, feeling dizzy and cold the moment he left the warm cocoon of his duvet. He laid back down, hand fumbling around under his pillow to find his phone since that was usually where he kept it. 

**To Nathalie: Hey, Natalie, I think I've got a fever or something...**

**To Adrien: Are you quite sure? That's going to be inconvenient for today's schedule since you were supposed to have a photo shoot, but I will let your father know. I'll come in and check your temperature before I do. Would you like me to bring you anything?**

Adrien paused and considered Nathalie's offer. He decided, most certainly, that he couldn't stomach anything, as the very idea of eating something at the moment make him want to throw up. 

**To Nathalie: No, thank you. But if that changes, I'll let you know.**

**To Adrien: Of course, Adrien. I should've seen this fever coming. Your schedule has been quite taxing recently. Can you recall the last time you rested?**

**To Nathalie: Maybe five weeks ago? Between the extracurriculars, the photo shoots, and homework, I haven't really had the time to do anything besides eat and shower.**

And of course, the akuma attacks, but Adrien neglected to add that to the list for obvious reasons. 

**To Adrien: I will make sure to inform your father that you've been overworked and see if I can't convince him to lessen your workload in the future.**

**To Nathalie: Thanks.**

With that last text, Adrien tucked his phone under his pillow and intended to go back to sleep; however, Plagg had other intentions.

"You feeling feverish, kid?" the cat kwami asked, sitting across from Adrien on the edge of the desk and looking at him with narrowed eyes, as if examining the teen.

"You're a real jerk, making me talk right now..." Adrien croaked, brushing his hair from his forehead with his fingers. Wow, he sounded like he had swallowed a bowl full of gravel too. 

"Well, just make sure you give me an extra wheel of my delicious camembert for putting up with your attitude and your fever. You better not ask me to fetch anything. That's what you have an assistant for." Plagg grumbled, looking away from Adrien with an exaggerated pout. Adrien just rolled his eyes and buried his head under the covers.

It wasn't long at all before Nathalie knocked on the door and entered, holding a thermometer. Adrien woke up to the knock, covering his eyes so he didn't have to deal with the brightness of the room. Nathalie, rather silently offered Adrien the thermometer and the boy stuck it in his mouth and waited for it to beep.

"Thirty-nine degrees celsius. There's no way you're going to be able to go to school today." Nathalie said, a little remorseful. She understood how happy going to school made the model, though she didn't particularly understand why. Adrien just nodded, burying himself under the covers again and waving his hand in dismissal before shoving it back into the warm sanctuary that blankets provided.

He'd miss seeing everybody at school, but he knew that even if his temperature wasn't so high, he'd still be in no shape to attend if the dizzy spell he had suffered trying to get out of bed was anything to go off of. He should probably let Nino know of his absence ahead of time.

**To Nino: Hey, Nino. I'm sorry to say, but I won't be making it to school today. Woke up with a pretty bad fever. Don't worry about me. I'm just going to spend the day recovering. Please don't make a big deal about it. I don't want to make anyone worry.**

**To Adrien: No problem, man. Get better soon, bro. School's not going to be the same without you. You'll be missed, for sure.**

**To Nino: I'll try my best. Hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going to go back to sleep now. The phone screen is really bright...**

Nino didn't send a response, deciding to be gentle on Adrien's apparently sensitive retinas. Adrien was appreciative of it and drifted back to sleep easily. **  
**

* * *

Marinette had actually made it to class on time and it was something that she was rather proud to achieve. She walked into the classroom to see both Nino and Alya looking pretty glum and she strode over to her seat and poked them both playfully. 

"Why the long faces? We've only got two more weeks of school before summer vacation!" She exclaimed with a big grin. For her, summer vacation would mean a well deserved break from the responsibilities of school. Since akumas had been more of a regular occurance, it would leave her time to do other things. She had been so busy protecting the streets of Paris, recently that she was really looking forward to the break in her schedule. 

"My man is sick so he won't be coming today. Not entirely sure that he'll be recovered enough to come to school tomorrow either but he's hopeful."

"Adrien is sick?!" Marinette asked with a gasp, her mind going through the usual dramatic cinematic at the news. "What if he needs someone to take care of him? Or feed him soup? Does he have a fever? Maybe I should go and check on him, dab his forehead with a damp cloth. That helps fevers, right?"

"Girl, calm down." Alya said, chuckling and batting her hand dismissively. "It's not like he's all by himself. He's got that assistant lady. What's her name, Nino?"

"Nathalie." 

"Right. He's got Nathalie to take care of him. It's probably best that you don't go to his side and nurse him back to health anyways. Knowing you, you'd trip over his bed and fall on top of him and get him all riled up and worried that you got a concussion on his rock-hard abs. He just needs a little R&R and he'll be back to his old self in no time."

"I suppose you're right. I just hope he's alright."

"He's a little bummed about missing class but other than that, he'll be fine." The bell rung and the teens settled in for their lesson. Marinette spent a lot of time looking at the empty spot in front of her with a downcast expression. Alya nugged her.

"Instead of being depressed that your sun isn't here to brighten up your day, maybe you should take notes, you know so you can give them to him when he gets back?" Alya whispered, smiling softly. Marinette perked up at that, opening her notebook and writing down everything that appeared on the board diligently. 

She probably would've spent most of the day like that, writing notes for her beloved Adrien in hope that he would notice her. It seemed that the day had other plans for her as a thunderous boom was heard, shaking the school slightly. Marinette looked up from her paper and saw that the Eiffel Tower had disappeared from the skyline and dust had taken its place. 

Madame Bustier sighed softly and gestured to the door. "Please file into an orderly line and evacuate the building. Ladybug and Chat Noir will deal with the situation promptly, but until then class is dismissed. Stay safe and go to your homes until further notice." she said, repeating the line of dialogue she had memorized by heart now. It was common place now for the school to simply evacuate the students from campus since it had become such a common target for akumas. It meant less hassle for the miraculous duo but the students had lost a lot of hours that should've been dedicated to learning because of it. Marinette followed the group like always, careful not to be caught as she snuck away to the girls' bathroom so she could transform. 

"Wow. Hawkmoth has been really ruthless with the akuma attacks recently. Isn't this the ninth day in a row that there's been an attack?" Tikki asked with a sigh. Marinette nodded seriously. 

"Yeah. I just wish he'd give Chat and me a little break. Maybe he's trying to wear us down."

"It would certainly seem that way. Little does he know that one of his adversaries is the most adaptable and dependable girls in all the world."

"Awe. Thanks, Tikki. I really appreciate the compliment." Marinette gushed and Tikki floated up to hug the girl's cheek. "We had best go stop this akuma before it gets out of control. Tikki, spots on!"

* * *

The boom woke him up. He shot out of bed and immediately regretted it as his stomach sloshed around and his head spun. 

"Hnnnn.... An akuma? Again?" Adrien groaned, voice still feeling hoarse. "I guess we better get to it." 

"Woah, woah, woah. Get to what exactly? You can barely sit, you definitely can't fight in this condition." Plagg said strictly, crossing his arms and scowling to show that he meant business.

"But Ladybug-" 

"Will be better off when she doesn't have to worry about you collapsing mid-battle." Adrien knew Plagg was right, but it didn't make him feel better about the situation. 

"Fine. You're right." he croaked. "But at least let me transform so I can tell her that I can't fight today." 

"Alright, alright. But if you pull any funny business, I will de-transform you and let you fall on the floor pathetically." Adrien chuckled, shaking his head and pulling his hand out of the covers. 

"Plagg, claws out!" The green light poured over him and soon enough Adrien was replaced with the city's most beloved (and only) feline hero. He pulled out his staff and pressed the little button that sent out a call.

"Chat, where are you?" Ladybug answered almost immediately, glancing down at the screen with a scowl. Chat's hair was messier than usual and he looked awfully pale where she could see skin.

"I'm sorry, m'lady. I would love to join you but I feel like I'm going to cough up a hairball. I definitely need to see a veterinarian before I do any fighting. I'm hotter than usual." 

"You still make jokes even when you're sick, huh?" Ladybug sighed softly, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "It's fine, Chat. I understand. I'll handle the akuma on my own, you just get well, alright?"

"Alright, m'lady. If you wanted to come and nurse me back to health with a healing kiss after you handle the akuma, I wouldn't object." Chat mused, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Ladybug rolled her eyes and disconnected. "Claws in." he breathed and then fell back into unconsciousness, the transformation exhausting him. Plagg was right, he was certainly in no shape to fight an akuma if being Chat Noir for less than a minute knocked him out cold.

Ladybug bounded across the rooftops towards the akuma. She could now tell since the dust had cleared that the Eiffel Tower had been destroyed once again. She sighed softly, looking at the wreckage closely. The base had been sliced in half but there were no signs of a sword doing it. All the cuts were uneven, like the akuma had cut it with an axe like a lumberjack. 

"Ah, Ladybug, how nice of you to join me." She heard a calm voice behind her say. She turned around with a start and saw the akuma inches behind her. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Black Diamond." The man had a diamond-shaped cape that fluttered behind him, the rest of his outfit was a suit held tight to his skin, switching from red to black diamonds, patterned together, with smaller black diamonds inside the red ones. He had a red cravat, a top hat, and in the top hat, was a single dark purple card that clearly had an Ace of Spades on it.

"What's your power, then?"

"You want to see it in action?" Black Diamond smirked, tapping the cuff of his sleeve casually. A card shot out at high speeds and crashed into the wreckage of the Eiffel Tower, causing the monument to split in half. "Let's just say, there's an ace up my sleeve."

* * *

The battle between the two red and black adversaries raged on for what felt like hours, but in reality it was just under one before Ladybug started feeling fatigued. She had been careful, trying to maintain a higher ground so that when Black Diamond would fire a card from his sleeve, it would do as little damage as possible. But now, she was lagging, barely avoiding the small cards as they zoomed past her at speeds that would make bullets seem slow. 

She hid behind a chimney, panting heavily. Based on Chat's appearance over the call, there was no way she could call for backup. He looked like he was having a difficult time just sitting up; fighting this fast paced akuma would be a problem for the both of them if he was here too. She gasped for air, lungs burning from the almost constant exercise Black Diamond had put her through. 

"Ladybug, where's your partner?"

"Hell, if I know." Ladybug mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes and staring down at her yo-yo. She knew one thing for sure, the day wasn't getting any younger and she couldn't battle this Akuma until Chat got better. Her finger instinctively found the loop in the wire and she tossed the spotted disk into the air. "Lucky charm!"

A paper shredder floated down into her hands and she stared at it for a moment before her mind clicked into place. She posed defensively, branshing the shredder in front of her like a shield. 

Black Diamond only smirked at her, as if she was a foolish child. She hated being underestimated. He stood there, not bothering to tap his cuff as he had been for the last hour.

"You really think that that polka-dotted paper shredder is going to defeat me?"

"Think so? I know so!"

"Uh-huh, well, Ladybug, you are a terrible gambler. You've shown your hand too early and now you're going to lose. Luck of the Draw!" he ran his fingers across the rim of his hat before pointing them at the paper shredder. 

* * *

Adrien awoke feeling much better the next morning. His temperature was down to normal and his stomach no longer lurched when he moved, not only that but his throat felt pretty good too. He had Nathalie check up on him one more time before heading off to school, looking down at his day-late homework and double checking for errors on the way to school. While he was bummed that he had missed, not only a day of school but also the chance to battle next to his lady, he was rather happy to be healthy and back on track again. 

The sight that greeted him in the classroom, however, made him pause in his tracks. Not a single one of his classmates had a smile and it made his own grin feel out of place until it faded. Alya was hunched over her desk, face buried into her arms and even Chloé looked like she was miserable. He sat down slowly, nudging Nino.

"What's going on?" Nino just stared at him like he had grown a second head. 

"You don't know? Dude, I thought you were a Ladybug fan!" Nino said, frown only deepening. 

"I am a Ladybug fan!" Adrien defended and then he heard Alya break into sobs. His expression softened and Nino shifted to rub his girlfriend's back comfortingly. "Something happened..." Nino nodded solemnly. 

"Ladybug was captured by yesterday's Akuma. Not only that, but Marinette never made it home yesterday."


	2. A World Without Ladybug and Marinette

It felt like his whole world had crashed on him with such a force that it skipped the shattering of his bones and moved straight to crushing his soul into dust. Ladybug had been captured and Marinette was missing? It couldn't be. This had to be a dream. No, not a dream, his worst nightmare. The love of his life was in Hawkmoth's clutches and the sweetest girl he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing had never made it home from the Akuma evacuation. Seconds slowed to the point where Adrien could see everything happen in slow motion. Everyone that blinked at him, every uncomfortable fidget as Adrien's questioning gaze swept across the room for confirmation from his peers.

**Marinette and Ladybug were gone.**

"That means that... the akuma's still at large, right? Because Chat wasn't in the battle." Nino nodded, brushing some of Alya's hair back tenderly as she started to actually cry in earnest.

"Yeah... I'm surprised they didn't cancel school for the day." Nino admitted, biting his lip and taking off his hat so he could hold Alya close. Alya wasn't as miserable about Ladybug as she was about Marinette. Who could blame her really, none of them, not even Adrien really knew Ladybug, meanwhile, the most caring member of their class was missing, maybe dead. It stung that Paris' greatest defenders had failed to defend them, and yet everyone seemed to be worried about the two girls rather than begrudging the one that had caused the other's absence.

Adrien's fists clenched until his knuckles were white as he looked over his classmates once again. He turned on heel and rushed out of the room.

"I've got to go!" he shouted before running out of the school and to a nearby alleyway. "Dammit! Marinette! I'm so sorry!" he shouted, fist colliding with the brick wall in front of him so hard that it probably broke several bones but he couldn't be bothered to care at the moment. He broke down into tears. Marinette didn't deserve this. "I'm so sorry... I'm so, so sorry... Marinette..." he repeated quietly, hugging himself to keep from completely falling apart. While he was in love with Ladybug, he knew that even in Hawkmoth's clutches, she would take care of herself... at least he hoped. But he had no way of knowing what had happened to his smiling, sweet classmate. To one of his best and only friends. "Dammit!!"

The scream of anguish he let out echoed off the alley walls before leaving him in a sickening silence. This was his fault. If he hadn't gotten sick, Marinette would be here in class with him, Ladybug would be fine, and Hawkmoth wouldn't have one half of the miraculouses he was questing for. It was all his fault. He knew what he needed to do. He couldn't restore the damages that had been caused by the akuma, but he could stop the akuma from doing any more damage.

"Plagg..." Adrien said quietly. The small kwami poked out of his jacket to look at him, knowing that if ever there was a time to be quiet and not make snarky comments, this was it. "Claws out."

Adrien's transformation lacked the usual flair it had. There was no Ladybug to see, there was no joy in fighting this akuma, or the freedom that came with donning his black suit. It was just something that had to be done. Removing his staff from his belt he launched himself into the Paris air and felt his stomach drop when he saw the Eiffel Tower in shambles. And a great deal of destruction surrounding it.

* * *

"Luck of the Draw!"

Ladybug watched in horror as her polka-dotted paper shredder melted into nothing and faded from existence.

"But... but I... I don't understand." Ladybug murmured, looking at her hands that once held her lucky charm. "How?"

"I told you I had an ace up my sleeve. You must not be that great of a gambler. You should always wait for your opponent to reveal their hand first before you show your own hand." Black Diamond stated, smirking devilishly. "I guess you'll just have to hold out until your partner gets here, but I doubt he'd be able to help you."

"He's... he's not coming." Ladybug informed him, swallowing thickly.

"Do you want to surrender now then? Or shall I wear you down to the point of exhaustion and drag you by your cute, little ponytails to Hawkmoth?"

"Neither. I'm going to be you." Ladybug answered defiantly.

They continued in much the same way as before she used her lucky charm, though it could only last for so long. Every beep Ladybug's miraculous gave was discouraging. She hadn't even landed a hit on him and her yo-yo proved to be useless against him as he blocked each of her attacks with his cane.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Ladybug was no more and in her place was Marinette, breathing heavily as she tried to regain her strength. She was exhausted. Black Diamond chuckled, swatting her over the head with his cane. He grabbed Tikki as she tried to fly away from the Akuma, to get help. It was useless. He hummed, grabbing Marinette my the collar of her jacket and carrying her to Hawkmoth's lair.

"Hawkmoth. I bring you a gift."

* * *

 Chat Noir made his way to the desolation, swallowing thickly as he took it all in. So much damage. And without Ladybug there was no way to reverse it. This battle wouldn't bring her back. And he had no idea when a battle that would return her would actually happen.

"Well, well, well, Chat Noir. I was wondering when you'd show." Chat didn't turn around, he stood perfectly still except for his free hand, which curled into a fist.

"Is she alive?" he said evenly, narrowing his green eyes.

"When I saw her last she was, but I haven't seen her since yesterday when I dropped her in Hawkmoth's lap. Who knows if she's still breathing now. Hawkmoth isn't particularly fond of either of you." Black Diamond answered with a shrug, smirking as he saw Chat's shoulders tense.

"Maybe you can answer me one more question before we get down to business." Chat glanced over his shoulder to look at the Akuma. "There's a girl named Marinette. She's been missing since your attack yesterday. Raven hair, blue eyes. You haven't seen her, have you?"

"Do I look like I give a fuck about some girl you've got the hots for?" Chat's eyes narrowed into slits and he gently tapped his staff, extending it into Black Diamond's gut so hard that it caused the akumatized man to double over.

"Marinette is not some girl." Chat stated firmly, swinging his baton over Black Diamond's head and knocking him unconscious. He saw a small amount of blood swell over the Akuma's forehead and immediately regretted his actions. The akuma floated out of the card tucked into the band of Black Diamond's top hat with the intention of escaping. Chat was having none of it. If this Akuma got away, it would be like Stoneheart all over again, except worse since there was no Ladybug to purify all of the demonic butterflies that would come from this one.

"Oh, no, you don't." Chat growled. "Cataclysm!" he snatched the Akuma at of the air as it faded to dust. He felt awful for a moment and then, like the akuma, it faded. He didn't have time to process all the emotions it had sent through him. His concern fell upon the unconscious man laying in the rubble of the desolation that surrounded them. He lifted him up and sprinted to the nearest hospital.

"I need a doctor, quick!" he cried, holding the man close to him. A hoard of doctors and nurses came to him quickly and took the man from Chat. "He was akumatized. He should be fine now... maybe he might have a concussion... If it's worse than that, contact me through the LadyBlog, I'll take care of it from there... It's my fault so... just let me know."

Beep! Beep!

"I've got to go. If he's got an emergency contact, please contact them. Or make me the emergency contact if he doesn't." Adrien murmured, bolting out of the hospital and hiding in an alley as his transformation fell. That was it... his only chance to know if Marinette was alright, and the Akuma wouldn't cooperate with him. It was hopeless now since the man wouldn't remember anything. He'd lost his chance and now his only option was to do things the normal way. He glanced back at the hospital doors, feeling guilty for putting a man in there. "I'm so sorry, sir... I'll make it up to you in anyway I can."

There were many things he had to clear up. First, he needed to let Paris know that things were going to be as easy and blissful as they had once been. Ladybug was gone, there would be no quick clean-ups, and anyone who got injured was going to stay that way. He needed a plan for how he would take out akumas without lucky charms or cataclysms since he needed to save his power to destroy them. And most importantly, he needed to look for Marinette.

* * *

 "No! Chat Noir! You will pay for this!"

Marinette awoke with a start, finding herself in a dark and unfamiliar room. Standing before with his back to her was her greatest adversary: Hawkmoth. She was ready to pounce, ready to end this reign of terror in an instant. She shifted to jump him but the moment she did, she dislocated her shoulder as she was held back.

"Argh!"

"Ladybug, or rather, Marinette... You're awake. How nice of you to join me." Hawkmoth turned around and stared at her with a sickeningly smug smirk. Marinette's hand shot up to her ear and she realized that she no longer had her earrings.

"No! Give them back. Give Tikki back to me... please..." she whimpered, clutching her injured shoulder. She looked around at the mostly empty room she found herself in. There wasn't much. It was dome shaped, metal walls, a large window with a butterfly that seemed to be getting smaller... it was closing, her mind supplied, and dozens of white butterflies, fluttering around aimlessly.

"How about you accept defeat like a good, little girl, Marinette? It won't at all be long before I attain Chat Noir's ring as well."

"Who are you?!" There was silence after Marinette shouted these words, and then a small smirk appeared on Hawkmoth's lips once more.

"Nooroo... Dark wings fall." A purple light filled the otherwise dark room and when it faded, the man standing before her was none other than Gabriel Agreste. "Do you like what you see, Marinette? Because aside from my face, Natalie's is the only other face you're going to see until I get what I want."

Marinette felt dizzy with grief. The man she looked up to, the father of the boy she had had a crush on for the past two years, was Hawkmoth. She felt betrayed. How could her idol do something like this? She felt tears falling down her face rapidly and she moved to wipe them.

"Wh-Why?"

"You're going to have to be more specific."

"Wh-why are y-you doing this?"

"Ah. That's right, you've never gotten to know my motives... Maybe when I'm in a better mood, I'll tell you." he murmured,

"Chat will defeat you!" Hawkmoth paused and turned to look at her with a cocky smirk.

"Think whatever you need to if it will help you sleep better. I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Dupain-Cheng." And with that, he left, going down into an elevator in the floor.

The weight and gravity of her situation hit her. Her mom and dad! They would be miserable when they realized their daughter was missing. All the destruction in Paris. She was suppose to be responsible for putting it all back together again. Alya would worry too. And Chat... how would he fend for himself. She was supposed to purify Akumas, how could he defeat Hawkmoth's villains without making the situation worse? No good came from her being captured.

Hawkmoth was right; it was only a matter of time before he captured Chat Noir too.

* * *

 Adrien got Plagg some Camembert from his pocket, letting the kwami replenish himself as he thought in silence. Marinette was gone. Ladybug was gone. And there had to have been casualties from the desolation of the area surrounding the former Eiffel Tower. He went through his plan in his head, not knowing if it would even work. It was the only shot he had. With Ladybug out of the picture he needed to survive and continue to defend Paris without her. He was now Paris' only chance at defeating Hawkmoth and the realization struck him just as hard as the one that Marinette was gone.

"Plagg, claws out." he murmured when he saw that the kwami had finished his cheese. Plagg had been respectfully quiet, which he appreciated because he wasn't quite ready to actually talk about anything that happened. He leapt through the city and to the news center, knowing Alya was in no shape to do the interview he needed to do at the moment. He tapped Nadja on the shoulder, looking up at her.

"Hey, Nadja."

"Chat Noir... You're alright?"

"I've been better... Listen... I need you to do me a favor. I need to make an announcement to the public and the LadyBlog is on a hiatus for now."

"Of course. I'll go get the studio prepared." Nadja quickly made her way to the nearby studio, giving several people orders. He sighed softly, watching cameramen bustle to their spots. He was offered a chair but he couldn't sit at the moment. He needed to stand.

"Alright, Chat Noir, we're on the air in three- two- go."

"People of Paris, it's me, Chat Noir. As many of you know, yesterday, we lost our beloved Ladybug to Hawkmoth and the akuma, Black Diamond. The akuma has been eliminated, but... I'm not Ladybug. I don't have the power to put things back the way they were... From now on, the responsibility to protect Paris from Hawkmoth falls on me, and me alone. There's no need to worry about another Stoneheart incident. I can destroy the akumas with my cataclysm. You're not going to have to deal with more Black Diamonds.

"The destruction caused by the most recent Akuma attack left many casualties and missing people... My hope is that people will come together to volunteer clearing the wreckage in the 7th Arrondissement and in the process, we can recover some missing people and get an idea of how much collateral the akuma attack caused. The people who lived in the destroyed neighborhoods, I hope to have relocated into shelters that I will have built specifically for people who have lost their homes to akuma attacks. This is where I need your help most.

"Hawkmoth is still at large and can't be allowed to know my identity, even in this time of crisis, I can't reveal who I am to you. I'm going to set up a fundraiser; its goal shall be to raise enough money that those injured and those who have lost their homes can move on with their lives, heal, and start over. A large portion will go to building the Akuma-Victim Shelters, the homes for people who have lost theirs. Any remnants we're fortunate enough to receive will go to paying the medical bills of those who have been injured in this akuma attack, as well as all subsequent attacks.

"My next request may seem a little unfair since the 7th Arrondissement was a beacon for tourism and a proud part of our culture. I'm going to request that all destroyed buildings in that district are not rebuilt for the time being, whether that be workplaces or homes. If you worked in any of the buildings that have been destroyed, I request that you find work elsewhere for the time being. When the shelters are finally built, we will need people to work in the kitchens, to help us keep these shelters clean, and to manage whatever repairs these temporary homes might require.

"This is a temporary solution to this terrible crisis. My end goal is to stop Hawkmoth and reclaim the Ladybug Miraculous, and if I'm lucky, Ladybug too. If not, I will give up my miraculous in exchange for hers and become the new Ladybug. With the powers of creation, I can set things right again and Paris will be restored to its former glory. Please avoid the desolated areas as I will be using them for any future combat with any akumas Hawkmoth sends our way. That's the main reason I don't want anything there rebuilt. It's not fair to you to waste your money rebuilding these buildings. In the long run, if I can keep the fights contained to this destroyed part of the city, Paris' economy, though badly deflated, will endure.

"For those of you who cannot afford to donate to the fundraiser, you can still help me. If ever you see anyone in distress, please, comfort them, bring them closure. Hawkmoth chooses victims that are suffering from negative emotions. It doesn't matter if it's a stranger or your best friend, anyone in grief is a potential target for this villain. He doesn't discriminate against anyone, young, old, male, or female, he will akumatize anyone who isn't thinking positively.

"Yesterday was a sad day for Paris' history, but it isn't the end of Paris. We can only raise. We can only grow stronger. And we can grow stronger together! Thank you for listening to my announcement. I promise you, Paris, I will keep you safe to the best of my abilities."

With that the cameras shut up and Chat's shoulders sagged. Nadja looked solemn but relieved by Chat's speech and he hoped that the rest of Paris felt similarly.

"That was some speech." Nadja said, looking at Chat with a calculating gaze.

"I meant every word. I'll get right on that fundraiser page, but there's something I need to do first."

* * *

Chat was replaced by Adrien the moment he got near the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

"Um, Adrien, I know we're doing the 'please, shut up, Plagg' bit right now, but I just wanted to point out something."

"What is it, Plagg?"

"Your fingernail."

"What? What about it?"

"The tip as turned black."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, yo, yo! What up, my Miraculous Ladybug Dudes! (That's my Nino impression). I have some exciting news. I have a website. What does this mean exactly? This means that if you go to it and take my survey, you can help me pick what work I will upload next of my planned works. There is a catch, however. It's not going to be instantaneous. I like to have only three open fics at a time, and this is my fourth (because I hate myself). That means that it will take however long finishing up two of my current open fics will take. I'll be back down to three by mid-June, I keep telling myself. This survey will give you a good idea of some of the butt-clenching tales you will get from me in the future. Requests are always open, and you can make them through my patreon. Any requests ignore my rule of three, so if you make one, your request is my top priority.  
> https://jeanneriddle.weebly.com/  
> https://www.patreon.com/jeanneriddle  
> Thank you so much for all of your support, comments, and kudos. I appreciate them all.


	3. Adrien and Chat's Persistence

Adrien stared down at the hand he had used against the akuma. Sure enough, as Plagg had said, the tip of his ring finger nail was black.

"I suppose that's why Ladybug is suppose to get rid of the akumas..." he murmured blankly, glancing at his kwami. 

"I shouldn't let you destroy any more akumas, who knows what it's going to do to you."

"If you have any suggestions for a different approach that doesn't result in multiplied akumas, I'm open to hear it." Plagg opened his mouth and then closed it, shaking his head. "Then we've just got to continue fighting akumas this way until we've got an opening that gives us a chance to defeat Hawkmoth for real."

"Kid, it's been two years and we've not seen him at all, except through his akumas. What are the chances that he comes out before his akumas do some real damage to you?"

"It's a risk I have to take, Plagg. Paris doesn't have any other defenders at the moment, in case you didn't notice. I'd rather make a difference by protecting people even if it means risking my own health."

"Kid..."

"I understand that you're looking out for me, Plagg, and I appreciate it, but we don't really have any other options right now."

"Alright, Adrien, just... promise me that if we come up with a different option, you'll go for it."

"I promise. Now hide. I have to talk to Marinette's parents and at least offer my condolences." Plagg did as ordered, disappearing into Adrien's shirt quietly as the blonde made his way to his friend's bakery. 

The bakery was closed, and Adrien had sort of expected that to be the case. What parent wants to work when their little girl is missing? Adrien made his way into the apartment part of it, going upstairs and knocking tentatively on the door. It was several minutes but finally the door opened, revealing a distressed Sabine on the other.

"Adrien. I'm surprised to see you..."

"I, uh, I just wanted to offer my condolences and also let you know that I'm thinking about you guys and Marinette too." he explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Sabine pulled Adrien into a hug and after the teen recovered from his shock, he hugged her back.

"Thank you, Adrien, it means a lot." At this point, Tom who had been silently watching them talk came over and wrapped his arms around the both of them as well. It was obvious how changed the Dupain-Cheng family was without Marinette and it was painful to watch. The parents who had been so incredibly proud and protective of their little girl had been morphed into total wrecks and Adrien could tell. Hell, his world felt wrong without her stand there fumbling over her words at him. 

Minutes had passed but it felt like longer before the parents pulled away from their only source of comfort. Sabine and Tom both had tears flowing down their eyes, and Adrien would be lying through his teeth if he said that he didn't look similar. Something about that hug had cemented the fact that Marinette was truly missing and this wasn't some sort of hellish nightmare. Marinette was gone and who knew if she was even alive or not, and Adrien couldn't help but feel responsible. If he hadn't gotten sick, he and Ladybug could've stopped this atrocity from ever happening. Instead Hawkmoth had been the cause of a Marinette shaped hole in everyone's hearts.

Everyone rubbed their eyes and cleared their throats before daring to speak again. Adrien sniveled a little and let out a shaky breath. 

"I've pretty much decided to clear my schedule for the day so if there's anything you need..." 

"You're too kind, thanks, Adrien." Tom murmured, combing his hair out of his face with his fingers. 

"Actually, we were planning on watching some old home videos of Marinette..." Sabine explained quietly, shifting from one foot to another. "Would you like to join us?" Adrien was shocked that they would invite him to join them to watch what had to be very intimate family memories now and it must've showed on his face because Sabine and Tom both looked concerned that they had made him uncomfortable with their suggestion.

"Only if you want to, of course." Tom clarified, giving Adrien the opportunity to back out of their offer. Adrien immediately shook his head.

"I would be honored." he promised, finally stepping into the threshold of their apartment and following them to the sofa as they settled down together and Tom and Sabine cuddled close. Adrien took initiative and picked up the remote on the coffee table, pressing play.

A little girl with big, bright blue eyes appeared on the screen with a big toothy grin. She was missing too top teeth and Adrien, despite his grief, couldn't help but smile back, that happy smile contagious. She was sporting her usual pigtails and she had a bright pink bow tied around each of them. 

"What are you baking today, Marinette?" a voice from behind the camera asked. It was Tom's.

"Le-lemon Mar- How do you say it, daddy?"

"Lemon Meringue."

"Yeah. That. A pie." Marinette mumbled, attention focusing completely on the flour-covered counter in front of her. She rolled out an comically uneven pie crust and stuck it in the pie dish.

"Is Lemon Meringue your favorite?"

"No, I like cherry better. But it's mommy's favorite. And I like making mommy smile." Marinette said, showing off another toothy grin. The filling had already been made prior to filming and she poured it into the dish, spilling just a little on the counter.

"What do we do with kitchen messes?"

"We clean them up!" Marinette answered excitedly, grabbing a wet cloth and wiping small mess clean, smiling and humming the whole time. 

"Alright. Stick it in the oven and when it's ready, we'll give it to mommy and make her smile."

"O-kay~" she hulled the pie carefully to the oven and stuck it in, closing the oven and turning to give the camera one big smile before it turned off.

Video after video played and Adrien watched in awe as his friend grew up before his eyes. There were things that always stayed consistent. Marinette always had a big smile, and she always did whatever she could to make someone smile, or make sure they were alright. It was a side of her he had only been able to really view as a bystander until this point. She was always so nervous around him. To see it so consistently made his heart dully thump with admiration and grief. Marinette was so good. Whatever had happened to here, she hadn't deserved it.

It was late by the time they had finished them all and Adrien couldn't help but feel like he had to go home if only to keep his father quiet. He left, giving both Tom and Sabine supportive hugs and promising to actively search for Marinette as much as he could. 

Hours turned into days, and every other day, Adrien would fight off another akuma as Chat in the ruined wreckage that had once been Paris' most popular tourism district. When he wasn't working or at school, he was putting up posters around every neighborhood with Marinette's face on them. And when it was too dark to search for her as Adrien, he would prowl the rooftops as Chat, searching the rubble for her. Occasionally, Nino and Alya would be able to put up posters too, but their parents were pretty strict on how late they could stay out or how close to the ruined district they could go. Adrien's dad would probably be too, if he knew. Adrien had made it a point to convince all of his tutors and extracurricular teachers to tell Gabriel Agreste that his son was in attendance. They all understood. He was searching for his missing friend and it was his way of coping with his loss. Not only that, but fencing and basketball were both out of the question while his hand was broken. Something else he had neglected to tell his father about. 

Besides searching for Marinette, another ritual had been added to his schedule. Every Saturday, after he finished modeling and sometimes battling and defeating an akuma, he would go over to the Dupain-Cheng home and watch home videos of Marinette with Tom and Sabine. 

Days turned to weeks. And weeks became months. And what hurt the most was when months had become years. The rubble had mostly been cleared from the streets and Marinette had never been found under any of it. That was worse than thinking she was dead, because now he really had no clue what had happened to her that day. A lot had changed in three years. They were soon going to be graduating from lycee and nobody but Adrien was still searching for her, even Alya had given up on Ladybug and Marinette. It made sense. What were the chances she was still alive, after all? Adrien had searched every hospital in hopes of maybe finding at the very least a comatose Marinette but to no avail.

The dark mark the destroyed akumas left had spread, leaving a tribal tattoo look over Adrien's right arm. It was now always numb, no sensation, no matter how painful he never felt. He could still move it fine, he just had to act like it was just a tattoo he had slowly gotten over the years whenever his friends touched him on his arm. It was hard acting like everything was okay, especially when that was never how Adrien felt.

He couldn't help but feel like shit. The akumas had done a lot more than make his arm feel nothing. He was plagued by nightmares regularly. His worst fears, usually. More often than not, it would start in a long black corridor. The corridor felt familiar, even the first time he had seen it. Behind it, was usually a voice that sounded an awful lot like his mother's, but sometimes it was just constant banging that made it hard to think and made him feel uneasy. 

A voice inside his head would tell him to open the door but he didn't want to. He was afraid to, even when it sounded like his mother was on the other side. He didn't know why he felt like that. It unnerved him. He figured it was just something that absorbing the negativity the akumas contained had done to him. 

If it wasn't that ominous dream, it was worse. He would be walking through his old college. This was the nightmare he hated more than anything. It was always a moonless light, and no lights could be found. It didn't matter though, because he could see in the dark. That was the worst part. He would rather never see what he was always forced to. In every room, would be Marinette, laying in a pool of blood, the light long since faded from her eyes and her face contorted in anguish. He had tried to avoid seeing that gruesome and painful sight every night but it never worked. Something would always bring him to look at the sight he feared more than anything else. Marinette's voice would echo in his head.

"Adrien." Her voice would repeat in a steady mantra as if calling to him. It would get louder until it was the only thing he could feel or even think about and when his head felt like it would burst, he'd wake with a start and a cry of her name.

He usually didn't say her name anymore, unless he was with Tom and Sabine and even then, they didn't talk about her quite as frequently, as if doing so would violently tear at the wounds that had never healed right in her absence. Plagg would express his concern about once a week or so, knowing that Adrien would lose his shit if he brought it up more frequently. 

His relationship with Tom and Sabine had evolved over the years too. They felt more like his parents than his dad did. In fact, he had started calling them mom and dad and often cuddled with them while they watched the videos of Marinette. He would stay for dinner most nights and he felt like a family for once. And then he'd feel the crushing absence of his own family when he went him to inevitably have the same fever dreams he was plagued with every night.

The biggest thing that had changed over the years was how he looked at Marinette. Being able to see Marinette in her true form, the kind, open-hearted girl with a bright smile had opened him up to a completely different Marinette that had been there all along. He loved her. And he knew it now. Sure, he had admired Ladybug but he now understood his feelings better. That was what kept him looking for her everyday. That was what kept him hopeful despite every reason not to be. He loved Marinette and even though it was immature of him, he couldn't help but wish that that alone would be enough to bring her back to Nino, Alya, Sabine, and Tom. To him. 

Though it was rare for him to not have nightmares, every few months or so, he would have a normal dream instead. Well, sort of a dream. It wasn't so much visual as it was just a sensation. A sensation that he had managed to decipher the meaning of. It was peaceful, serene, and comfortable. It felt like Marinette was in his arms and he could feel a calm stream of breath against the crook of his neck. What he would give to have those dreams every night instead.

The last akuma he had faced had wrecked his world almost as much as Black Diamond. But it was nothing in comparison to the one who had taken him by surprise while he was on patrol. 

He collided with a building and let out an audible grunt. Picking himself off the ground and assuming his usual battle stance. He couldn't see who had attacked him, as if they were invisible or had vanished into thin air. Above him on the building behind him, he heard a voice. A voice that was bone-chillingly familiar and he wasn't sure why.

"Hello, kitty..."

_Ladybug._


	4. Marinette and Ladybug are the Same Person?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm back! Thanks so much for your patience while I work on my other open fics too. I'm back down to just three so look forward to more regular updates and less writer's block. Also, I teamed up with AJ Banks from deviantart, tumblr, and facebook again and she's agreed to help provide the character art for all of my Miraculous Ladybug fanfics that need them since it will help cultivate her own skills.  
> Her recreation of my vision of akumatized Ladybug is almost... SPOT ON? Sorry the pun was perfect... Anyways, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter and don't forget to check out my website to find out what other stories I have planned, and you can influence what comes next with my survey. I hope to hear from you soon and thank you for your continued support.  
> jeanneriddle.weebly.com  
> https://www.deviantart.com/artbanks/art/Ladynoir-Akumatized-Ladybug-759427686

"Hello, Kitty..." 

Chat felt his heart pang with hurt. Ladybug. She was alive, and more than that, she was an akuma. He could feel his natural attunement with her return full force and it made him feel a little sick that his body could just naturally know what she was going to do after not seeing her for what felt like an eternity. He rolled out of the way, not even looking and the spot that he was standing exploded with the collision of a high-speed weapon.

"Ladybug." Chat greeted solemnly, still unable to look at her.

"Come on, Chaton, I thought you'd be happy to see me. After all these years, we're reunited." 

"This isn't how I ever wanted it and you know it!" he looked at her and it sunk in just how much time had really passed.

Ladybug's pigtails were much, much longer now, coming down to her waist. Wherever Hawkmoth was keeping her, he was at least keeping her fed because she didn't show any signs of malnourishment. In fact, her body had grown just as it should've. Her figure was more recognizable as a pear shape but her chest had grown quite sizably as well. She was clad in her usual dots but they were fewer and far between. Her one piece suit had been transformed into a leotard and the rest of her outfit looked like an amalgamation of maturity and corruption. She wore a long black, leather coat with a pattern of dots and thin lines on the inside, a black mask that reflected his own, and a bright red belt that mimicked his own tail but resembled more of a demon's. She sported a pair of red leather ears that honestly looked more like horns and despite being through so much with her, he'd never seen her show any skin below her neck. She wore a collar with a bell on it, as if to mock his own, and her pure eyes had been morphed into unsettling cat eyes of blue and yellow. The view of her arms, legs, and chest were unexpected. Most noticeable, though was the broken shackles around her wrists; the sight of them leaving an empty pit in his stomach. This was worse than any feeling he'd experienced while absorbing akumas. This was pure and unadulterated guilt and it left him with an overwhelming nausea. 

"Sometimes we don't get what we want, Kitty. For example, I wanted you to rescue me from Hawkmoth, and you didn't. I wanted you to know where to look, and you didn't. I wanted you to keep Paris safe... and  _you_ didn't." 

"I have been trying my best, Ladybug, but damnit, do you have any idea what it's been doing to me? I've been suffering silently for years too!"

"It's not Ladybug now, Chat." Ladybug said simply, eyes narrowing and a unsettling smirk appearing on her lips. "It's Ladynoir. You wanted to be a couple, and now we are; a couple of failed superheroes, that is."

"This is no time for jokes." 

"I'm not joking. I failed to protect Paris from Black Diamond. And you're going to fail to protect Paris from me." 

"No."

"No? Seriously, that's your retort? You've changed these last few years." 

"There's someone I need to see before I die, and until I do, I can't lose." 

"I've never seen you so resolved. Let's go find them, they can watch while I kill you." 

"Good luck finding her, I've been searching for her for years and I still don't know where she is."

"Awe, little old me?"

"Don't be so arrogant, Ladybug. This isn't about you, anymore." 

"Oh? You moved on while I was gone?"

"That's not it either! I just realized that my obsession with you was only that. There was a girl in my civilian life that was always there for me, always so kind to me..." Chat explained, gripping at his heart as it clenched with pain. "The day I got sick is the worst mistake of my life. If I hadn't gotten sick, she'd been alive right now..." 

"Don't act as if you're the only one who lost something because you got sick." Ladynoir said coldly, waving her hand. The weapon that had buried itself in the wall flew out to float next to her, pointed at Chat. "I lost my whole life! My family, my friends, my dreams! I lost my idol and my crush! All because you were too fucking weak to fight alongside me!"

"That's enough!" Chat shouted at her, fist by his side clenching tightly to the point where he could feel his claws almost digging into his skin. "There's no need to guilt trip me. I've carried that guilt with me every day since that day for your sake and hers. Let's get this fight over with so that you can go home to your family, and I can go home to mine."

"Oh, I'd love to, Chat... I really would, but you let them die in the latest akuma attack. Why do you think I'm like this?" Chat was silent, eyes watering as he stared her. "I wanted to wait. I knew that you wouldn't stop until you defeated Hawkmoth and that I'd be able to put the earrings down and go home... but you couldn't bother protecting my family and now everything I love is gone. Tikki's dormant, and my family is dead, and friendship is such a fragile bond, I've learned... Goodbye, Chat." 

The blade flew in his direction again and he dodged, starting to run for his life to the ruined district of Paris. He couldn't fight her in a populated area. He couldn't let anyone else lose their families because of his battle. 

"Cataclysm." 

He knew that word better than anyone, but he hadn't been the one that had said it. He glanced over his shoulder, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up. A building was tumbling down in his direction and he dodged it just in time as the rubble exploded and dust scattered everywhere, making it almost impossible to breathe. He was now hiding in an abandoned building, stifling the need to cough as best he could. He needed to think. He needed a way to stop her akumatization. 

"Here, kitty, kitty... Come out and play~" 

He swallowed thickly. He hadn't heard of anyone dying during the last akuma attack. Hell, no one went missing during that time. He couldn't think of why she would know, how she found out, or why she would think that. Unless he'd missed something... He was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud creak of the building he was in and he watched in horror as the building he was in started to collapse on top of him. Out of desperation, he used his cataclysm, diving out of the building and coughing heavily as more dust was stirred and he was forced to breathe it in.

"There you are~" 

"Here-" More coughing. "Here I am..." He agreed, pinching his numb arm as if to try and give himself some semblance of sense. 

"Your identity is going to be revealed soon." 

"I wouldn't be so sure." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I don't know. Maybe this dust is getting to-" Chat felt a sharp pain to the back of his head and the world faded to blackness around him.

* * *

Chat awoke to a pounding ache in his head and a burning sensation in his lungs. He rubbed his forehead and groaned softly.

"It's been six hours... and your suit still hasn't faded away... How did you do it?" It was Ladynoir. She wasn't bothering to look at him, staring in front of her instead.

"Honestly? I don't know..." Chat murmured, trying to swallow down all the dust he'd breathed. "I guess absorbing all of those akumas broke my countdown because one day it just stopped working. It doesn't turn off until I release my transformation... My kwami is going to be exhausted though..." 

"You act so nonchalant still... As if nothing has happened. It pisses me off..."

"Where did you drag me to?"

"The place where my parents died." Chat brought his attention to where Ladynoir had been staring and found himself in shock. In front of him was a place he knew all too well. The Dupain-Cheng Bakery... or what was left of it. The last Akuma attack had left it in ruins and he was barely able to get Tom and Sabine out of it before it was destroyed. They were both fine, no injuries, but it had hurt them all to see the place in ruin. Anything left of Marinette... was gone. He turned to look at her a moment, shocked and not at all sure of anything anymore.

"M-M..." It was hard for him to say her name. It hurt so damn much. One more time. "Marinette?"

"So you know who I am." 

"Not until just now..." Chat felt tears run down his cheeks and he pulled her into a hug. 

"Get off of me. I don't need your pity. I will use my cataclysm on you to rip apart your insides if you don't get off of me, Chat Noir!" 

"Marinette..." he whispered her name quietly, only holding her tighter.

"This doesn't change anything between us."

"You're wrong. It changes everything between us, Marinette..."

"I'm going to use it." 

"Your parents aren't dead." Chat held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Stop it, damn it! Stop lying to me!" 

"... Hawkmoth told you, didn't he?"

"..."

"Marinette, if you don't believe me, use your cataclysm on my hand. Just do it. But I actually know your parents really well, and they're not dead." 

"... Show me then..." 

"Do you think they'd want to see you like this?" Chat pointed out, standing and helping her off the ground. "Let go of your hatred, Marinette... It's only going to hurt you."

"Stop telling me what to do!" 

"Where's the akuma, Marinette?"

"... This photo..." Ladynoir pulled a blackened photograph out of her coat and handed it to him. It was a picture of the ruined bakery and he frowned softly. This would be all the proof that Hawkmoth needed to akumatize her. He ran his thumb over it and ripped it in half, watching as the akuma fluttered out of it. This was it. The last akuma he'd have to absorb... He glanced over at Ladynoir. It was worth it. 

"Cataclysm." And with one final swing, the akuma was no more. As had become the normal, he absorbed all of those raw emotions and they left him feeling wrecked but he didn't show it. He couldn't let Marinette know what he'd been through. 

Marinette was dressed in her usual outfit but it was dirty and it didn't fit her anymore. The akuma had given her all of her physical strength and once it was gone she nearly collapsed on the ground. Chat quickly scooped her up and held her close. 

"I've got you, Marinette... Let's bring you home." 

* * *

It was only a few minutes before Chat found himself at the Akuma Victim Shelter with Marinette's arms wrapped around his shoulders and her in his arms. He set her on the ground gently, standing up straight and preparing to knock.

"What are you doing?" Marinette asked, looking at him in confusion.

"I don't want the credit."

"So you're leaving me here?" 

"It's your parents, you'll be fine." Chat reasoned with a chuckle before growing serious. "Did you see Hawkmoth's identity?"

"...Yes..." 

"I know it hurts but please tell me?" Chat asked, kneeling down next to her.

"It's... It's Gabriel Agreste..." 

"What?"

"Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth..." Chat was quiet for a moment, keeping his emotions in check.

"Do you still have your earrings?" 

"Ye-yes. I do! He gave them back to me before he akumatized me in hopes of it being enough to defeat you." Marinette said excitedly, feeling her ears.

"Alright then. When you are ready, we'll take him down together. Until then, if he sends any akumas, I'll fend them off, okay?"

"Chat... why are you doing this?"

"Honestly? Because I love you, Marinette." Chat pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and knocked on the door before leaving.

 

 


	5. Preparing to Face Hawkmoth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all of your continued support. Keep up with me on tumblr, facebook, or my website and see when I update and what other fics I have planned. Your support is what keeps me writing so I hope you look forward to my upcoming chapters and other fics that I will write as soon as I have available slot for it.  
> jeanneriddle.weebly.com

As soon as Chat was a few blocks away, he ducked into a dark alley and let down his transformation. Plagg, as he had expected, was unconscious and Adrien caught him in both hands as the kwami started to fall. He knew he'd owe the kwami an explanation and a mountain of camembert for the hassle of using his cataclysm twice and keeping up his transformation for seven hours, but in the end Plagg would consider getting both Ladybug and her Miraculous back a victory.

He gently tucked the kwami into his jacket pocket and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he made his way back to the Akuma Victim Shelter. His heart was pounding. He couldn't wait to see Marinette again. Tom and Sabine were bound to be the happiest they had been in a long time and since he thought of them as his parents now, he was excited about that too. It took a lot of effort to take his time getting there, giving the family the time they needed to reunite and probably get Marinette clean too. Every step closer he got, the temptation to run the rest of the way grew stronger but he kept it in check, stopping by a nearby coffee shop and ordering a cup of plain black coffee, which he added a little cream to and a sugar cube.

He sat on a bench outside the center and once an hour and a half had passed he finally felt like he could intrude on the happiness of his chosen family. He made his way to the apartment door and knocked, taking a deep breath and relaxing his shoulders as he waited for the door to open.

Sabine was the one who answered, door hardly open a moment before he was pulled into a big hug.

"Oh, Adrien, it's wonderful!" she exclaimed, and he hugged her back with a tender smile.

"What's so wonderful?" he asked, playing dumb. He knew exactly what was so amazing, what had her grinning like this.

"Marinette is back!" 

"What?!" Adrien felt giddier for some reason, perhaps it was the reality of Sabine saying those words, it had felt like a dream before. "She's really back?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"She wouldn't say... Tom's fixing her up some dinner right now. We're not pressing her for details... I can imagine how hard it was for her."

"Yeah... me too." Adrien agreed. Sabine took his hand and pulled him inside. Adrien followed her and froze the moment he saw Marinette. She was beautiful. Her hair and skin were clean and it was obvious she had just come out of a bath not too long ago. She was wearing a loose t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, fingers wrapped gently around a mug of tea. Everything felt like it was in slow motion, his heart banging against his ribcage. Marinette really was back. She finally noticed him but something changed in her expression. Instead of the comfortable happiness that had been in her eyes before, now he only saw fear and confusion. 

"What's he doing here?!" she shouted, falling off of the chair she'd been sitting on as she tried to gain some distance between them. 

"Adrien's become a good friend of ours, he's been trying to find you since the day you went missing." Tom answered, abandoning the stove to help her back to her seat. 

"Get him out!" she screamed and Adrien's world fell apart. It was at that moment he realized why she wasn't happy to see him; the reality that his father was Hawkmoth set in. HIs shoulders drooped. He could hear Sabine and Tom trying to reason with Marinette but nothing felt normal anymore. All of his senses were numb and his heart was aching. 

"It's alright, mama, papa, I should probably be going anyways..." he murmured, waving at them before turning around and walking home dejectedly. 

Sleep did not come easy that night, Marinette's words echoing inside his head and becoming a constant reminder that the man sleeping a few doors down from him was his nemesis and the man who had held Marinette captive over the last couple years. It felt sickening to know that somewhere in this lonely house, Marinette had been waiting for him to find her and now it was too late to prove to her that he wasn't in league with his father. 

Marinette couldn't know his identity. All the battles they had fought together before would become meaningless and she wouldn't trust him and Hawkmoth would get his way. He sighed heavily as he tossed and turned in his bed but finally he fell unconscious. He was haunted by his usual nightmares except Marinette wasn't dead anymore in them, instead she'd scream for him to get away and somehow that hurt more.

It was obvious to Plagg when Adrien woke up that he had not slept well at all. There were dark grey bags under his green eyes and he looked pretty terrible.

"Don't you have a modeling gig today?" Plagg asked, crossing his arms and raising his brow at Adrien. Adrien just let out a groan, burying himself deeper under his covers. "Alright, fine, how about we talk about why I was unconscious for fifteen hours?" 

"Fifteen hours?!" Adrien checked his phone and it was already late in the afternoon. Gabriel was going to kill him for missing that photo shoot, not that it mattered much to him right now. 

"What happened last night?" Adrien was quiet for a moment, unable to meet Plagg's eyes. 

"Well... I found Marinette..."

"Really? That's good. That's great. You must be so happy." Plagg said encouragingly. Adrien shook his head and Plagg's smile fell.

"She's Ladybug, Plagg." the kwami didn't say anything, wondering what else was on the human's mind. "She knows who Hawkmoth is and now I do too."

"You know Hawkmoth personally." Plagg said in realization and Adrien nodded before breaking down into tears. The kwami felt terrible for his friend and cuddled close to him, quietly rubbing his shoulder. 

"It's my dad. Hawkmoth is my father..." he whimpered, trying to getting his breathing normal. Plagg was quiet, swallowing thickly. 

"Does he still have the Ladybug Miraculous?" Plagg asked seriously. 

"No. Marinette said that her kwami is dormant now, though." Adrien laid back down, trying to relax. Plagg sat on his chest and looked defeated. 

"Oh, Tikki... I can only imagine what the both of them have been through..." 

Both of them were pulled out of their thoughts by Adrien's cell phone which was now ringing loudly. Adrien checked the caller ID. Nino. He wiped his face free of tears and answered the video call.

"Hey, Nino. What's up?"

"Dude, Marinette is back!" Nino said with a grin, Adrien's eyes fell. "What's up, bro? I thought you'd be happy."

"I know... She didn't want to see me last night."

"What? How could she not want to see you, you're her crush."

"Nino!" Alya's voice in the background scolded him and Adrien smiled weakly at it. Her crush? Yeah right. 

"I don't know." he lied. "Probably best not to ask her about it though. If she doesn't want to see me, that's fine..."

"Doesn't sound fine to me, bro... You sure you're gonna be okay?" 

"I'll live. Maybe she'll want to see me after she's more settled in. I've got to go now, though. I missed a photo shoot today and my father's going to be angry about it."

"C'est la vie. Good luck, man."

"Thanks. I'm going to need it." Adrien hung up the phone and sighed softly, rubbing his face.

"Plagg?"

"Yeah, Adrien?"

"Claws out."

A green light filled the room and Adrien was replaced with Chat Noir. He left through the window and made his way to the Akuma Victim Shelter. He knocked on her bedroom window and let himself in. 

"Chat? What are you doing here?" Marinette asked, raising her eyebrow at him. 

"I came to check up on you. See how my partner's settling in." Chat answered, and Marinette's expression softened ever-so-slightly.

"That's sweet of you." She was quiet a moment. "Listen, about what you said last night... I'm not ready for a-"

"It's okay, Marinette. I'm not ready for a relationship right now either. I just... wanted to put my feelings on the table, I guess."

"Oh. Okay." 

"So, how are you?" Chat asked, sitting down next to her. 

"Feeling pretty pathetic, to be honest."

"You shouldn't be. You haven't exactly been active these last couple years. We'll get you back to fighting condition in no time, princess."

"Princess. It's been a long time since I heard that nickname." Marinette chuckled, sighing softly. "It will be over after we defeat him, won't it?"

"Yeah." Chat agreed, staring up at the ceiling with her.

"We'll give up our miraculous and live normal lives."

"...Yeah..."

"You don't want to?" 

"To be honest, no."

"Why not?" 

"Well, being Chat is a part of me. In most cases, I prefer it to my civilian life. I like doing good and helping people, and I'm not sure I'm ready to give that up, to be honest."

"Hmm... I think I would feel that way too, if being Ladybug hadn't stolen the last two years of my life... Maybe not the civilian life thing, though."

"It makes me happy to know you have a good homelife." 

"Yeah. Mama and papa have worked hard to make sure I'm adjusting well. I just wish things would go back to normal..."

"Me too..." Chat stood up, offering his hands to Marinette.

"What are you doing?" 

"Well, it does us no good to dwell on the past. Our best shot is to face the future. The best way for things to start feeling normal again is for you to start walking again."

"Chat... You're not exactly a rehabilitation expert."

"Maybe not, but I know that the only way you're going to feel better is if you feel like a normal girl again. Am I wrong?"

"No... Alright. Help me up." Chat carefully helped her until she was standing with a lot of support from him. 

"This is a great start, Marinette." Chat encouraged, smiling softly. 

"If you say so..."

"Are you alright? You don't hurt?"

"It stings a little bit but that's more to do with disuse. With how much you're supporting me, I'll do fine, I think." She stood a few minutes and then Chat gently returned her to bed. "Hey, Chat?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you cut my hair for me?"

"What? Why?"

"It's a constant reminder of how much time I'll never get back." Chat sat down next to her and gave her hand a squeeze. 

"I think you're looking at it wrong."

"What do you think about it then?"

"Well, I think it's beautiful. It suits you well... But it's not a sign of how much time you lost, it's a sign of how you prevailed against Hawkmoth after two long years. It shows your determination to live, your will to see your family and friends again, and I think that keeping it would only serve to make you stronger. It's not a reminder of how weak you were, it's a symbol of how strong you've become."

"That's... actually very beautiful..."

"Sleep on it and if you think you still don't want it, I'll cut it for you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Months passed like this, Chat coming over whenever he could to help her feel normal again and soon enough she was walking again. Her mood improved greatly but he still kept his distance from her as Adrien, not wanting to make her uncomfortable in any way. She kept her hair long and she started tying it into a single ponytail every day, rather than the pigtails from before. Every once in a while, he'd have lunch with Sabine and Tom. They'd tell him how much they missed having him over regularly and that they wished that Marinette was alright with him but they also knew nothing could be done about it. 

Marinette had been improving greatly by the time they were ready to fight Hawkmoth. In five months, she was completely back to peak performance and Chat knew his time with her would be coming to an end as soon as they turned in their Miraculous to Master Fu in order to keep the world's balance. He wasn't happy about it, but there wasn't a lot for him to be happy about in this situation. 

Master Fu had been working hard to wake dormant Tikki and it finally worked, making it much easier for Marinette to get back into the swing of things. Plagg had Adrien keep him informed about the Creation Kwami since they weren't able to see each other and Marinette seemed a little conflicted about having the Kwami back. Chat came to the conclusion that it was because Tikki was a constant reminder to her that their battle wasn't over yet. 

They were sitting together on the roof across from the Agreste Mansion, staring at it as they prepared for their final confrontation with their arch nemesis.

"I wish I understood his motives..." Chat confessed, sighing heavily.

"He said he considered telling me once, but he never got around to it." Ladybug replied, swallowing thickly. Chat rested his hand on her shoulder.

"We can do this, LB. We're together again and you're stronger than ever."

"You're right. Let's go fight Hawkmoth."


	6. Consequences to Hawkmoth's Defeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Ladyfans! I'm back and I hope to be more on schedule with when I release chapters. I know I've been pulling a lot of two month hiatuses this year. I now have a calendar with due dates and things on my website so if you ever want to know when I plan on releasing the next chapter, you can now check!  
> As always my website is jeanneriddle.weebly.com  
> I am hoping to keep up with my post schedule but I also know that I'm going to have a very busy December and also that I'm not sure what direction I want to take one of my other open fics in.  
> Thanks for your support and know that I love hearing your thoughts!

They had been in this house dozens of times before Marinette had vanished, and security hadn't really changed at all despite Hawkmoth knowing that Ladybug and her black clad Chat would be at his doorstep at any time. Though, Chat reasoned that it was because it would be suspicious to hire on new security immediately after Ladybug's return, not only that but Hawkmoth probably wanted as few people involved in his schemes as possible.

Ladybug's immediate action surprised Chat completely when she leapt upstairs and hastily opened Adrien's door to search his room.

"Adrien Agreste isn't here." Ladybug frowned. Chat's brow furrowed and then he realized her caution had been because she trusted his civilian self exactly zero percent.

"He could be out. Tabloids and press have been speculating for years that he and Gabriel don't have a good relationship... I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to spend as little time here as possible considering what Gabriel's stance had been on Adrien looking for you."

"I'm sure it was all a front. Adrien hardly noticed me in school. For him to suddenly pick up searching for me that hard after I vanished? That's suspicious."

"Or it could be you underestimated how much you mattered to him." Chat suggested and she rolled her eyes.

"Why are you taking his side on this?" she growled quietly as they made their way to the door to Gabriel's office.

"I just... things have been hard at home and I'm trying to see good in people, even where there might not be." Chat admitted quietly. Ladybug gently rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Next you're going to tell me that you think Hawkmoth's good." she teased.

"That one's been tricky, actually." Chat admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "Everyone's got a motive, right? I'm sure whatever his is, he feels he's doing right. It doesn't justify him kidnapping you and keeping you chained to a wall in a dark room, but at least he was 'nice' enough to feed you well." 

"You've always been an optimist."

"And you're a realist but you don't see me complaining about how you try to view people." Chat teased and she narrowed her eyes at him, but there wasn't any actual temper behind it. 

"We can debate this later... I just want to defeat Hawkmoth so I can give up my Miraculous and live a normal life."

"How's Tikki feel about this?"

"She's... She's not happy, but she understands my reasons... We've always been close... but after Hawkmoth... it just felt like something changed between us... Something changed about me."

"We've both changed a lot since we first got our Miraculouses, Buginette. No one can fault you for it." Chat murmured, frowning at her.

"What about you? Are you excited to put down the ring?"

"To be honest... no. Being Chat Noir started out as being a really cool way for me to escape my troubled homelife. And do some good... After all these years, my homelife has only gotten worse... I don't find any joy in my civilian form... Once I give up being Chat, I'm going to have nothing..."

"Woah... I thought you were the optimist." Ladybug mused before softening. "You can always hang out with me, if you want."

"Thanks. We'll see." Chat pressed against the wall, next to Gabriel's office. He had no real hope of taking off his mask and Marinette accepting him. Defeating Hawkmoth would simply mean that he'd have to say goodbye to her and while he was sure he'd never be ready to do it, he couldn't back out. "Now, let's go defeat Hawkmoth."

With a nod from Ladybug, Chat opened the door abruptly, staff immediately draw and at the ready. Hawkmoth wasn't there, but Ladybug had kind of been expecting that.

"Where exactly was he keeping you?" Chat asked curiously. Marinette had been sleeping under the same roof as him for years now and yet, he couldn't think of a single place where Gabriel could keep her without him finding her.

"In his lair."

"He's got a lair?"

"He's a super villain. Of course he has a lair."

"Well, where is it?"

"Give me a moment." Ladybug sighed, shaking her head. She went up to the painting of Adrien's mother, touching it gently. One of the pieces clicked into place and Chat's mouth fell open when she tried a couple other hidden buttons and a piece of the floor rose ever so slightly.

God, how he wanted this all to be a bad dream. But they were just finding proof that Adrien's father was... Hawkmoth. He'd had months to adjust to the fact now, but that hadn't made it easier for him to process. He felt nothing but grief.

They stepped onto the platform together and it led them to Hawkmoth's lair, where the man was standing as if he'd been waiting for them.

"Ah, Ladybug, how nice of you to bring me Chat Noir's miraculous too."

"We're going to have to do something about that ego of yours, Hawkmoth." Ladybug growled, Yo-yo suddenly slicing through the air and towards Hawkmoth, who took his cane and deflected the attack.

"Hawkmoth, I'd like to make a deal with you." Chat said suddenly and Ladybug's eyes went wide and she stared at him in disbelief.

"Chat, what are you saying?!"

"I'm intrigued, Chat Noir. What kind of deal would you possibly make with me? Your Miraculous for the safety of your love?" Hawkmoth gestured to Ladybug with his cane and a sickening smirk.

"My Miraculous is actually going to stay here on my finger. I'm quite fond of it so it's not going to be part of the deal." Chat smirked when Hawkmoth's eyes narrowed at him.

"Then pray tell, what is this 'deal' of yours?"

"Marinette... I need you to cover your eyes. And promise me you won't look."

"Chat, I can't do that!" Ladybug protested, smacking him to see if it shook him out of whatever this was.

"You're planning on revealing your identity to me too, Chat Noir? What would you get in exchange?" Chat's ears folded back low on his head.

"Marinette, please. I need you to trust me." Chat looked deeply into her eyes and Marinette couldn't help but listen to him. 

"I do trust you, Chat."

"Thank you."

"I would appreciate it if you both would stop ignoring me. Teenagers and their hormones..." Hawkmoth growled and Chat's attention immediately sprung back to the villain.

"You're going to turn yourself in, Hawkmoth. That's our deal." Chat said seriously.

"And why would I ever do that when I'm so close to the victory I've been waiting for?"

"Because you prefer that your son live and you can only make one wish with our miraculouses." Chat stated cockily with a smirk. He saw Ladybug's eyebrow furrow, but Hawkmoth just looked annoyed.

"Are you threatening the life of my son?" He growled, teeth grinding together in frustration and anger. Chat caught Ladybug's eye and nodded, signalling for her to close her eyes. She did so, but the reluctance showed on her face. Chat was taking a huge risk.

"Claws in." 

Marinette couldn't see anything but the bright glow as Chat released his transformation. The urge to see his civilian form welled up inside her but she pushed it down. Chat had respected her keeping her identity secret all those years ago, she could only repay him now by doing the same. Besides, if he wasn't quite ready for her to see him without the mask yet, she couldn't refuse him.

"A-Ad--" 

"No names, Gabriel." Chat said, interrupting whatever Hawkmoth had been about to say.

"Hawkmoth knows who you are?" Marinette asked, still doing her best to keep her eyes closed despite the curiosity welling up inside her. 

"Claws out." 

Once again a bright green filled the room and Ladybug's eyes fluttered open. 

"Now that you know my identity, you know what I can do to your son. If you don't want to find his corpse with a distinctly cataclysmic wound, you will hand over your Miraculous and you'll take your sentence with some fucking dignity."

"I... Yes... Chat Noir..." Hawkmoth said defeatedly, shoulders falling. "Nooroo... Dark Wings... fall..."

A purple glow covered every feature in the darkened lair and when it faded it revealed an incredibly distraught looking Gabriel Agreste.

"The Miraculous of Generosity, if you please." Chat demanded, holding out the hand that he did not wear his Miraculous on as a cautionary measure. Gabriel let out a little sigh, taking the broach and gently dropping it in Chat Noir's hand. "Hey, Bug-a-boo? I don't suppose you could lucky charm us some handcuffs?"

"I can do that." Ladybug agreed. "Lucky Charm!"

Up went her yo-yo and a pair of polka-dotted handcuffs fell from the ceiling. Gabriel offered his hands and she cuffed him quickly.

"Let's get out of here. I don't want to spend anymore time in the room." Ladybug said and Chat nodded his agreement.

Hawkmoth did not resist being quickly taken to the authorities, though his change in demeanor did make Ladybug more curious as to who Chat was. She couldn't begin to guess how revealing his identity had made his bluff such a real threat. They hopped and swung from building to building and set Gabriel on the ground in front of the Police Office.

Ladybug's Miraculous gave a beep and her hand shot up to it.

"I've got to go, Chat... Can you finish turning him in?"

"That won't be a problem, m'lady." Chat agreed, already starting to nudge Gabriel up the steps. "Gabriel will you cooperate and let Ladybug remove the handcuffs so she can set Paris back the way it should be?"

"Yes... I will..." Gabriel said vaguely... offering his hands to Ladybug once more. She took the cuffs and tossed them into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" 

The biggest flash of pink and red filled the skies and billions of ladybugs scattered across all edges of Paris.

"You get going, LB. I know you're not ready to reveal yourself to the public." Chat gave her a wink, but his usual playful demeanor was absent from it.

"Alright..." Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo but hesitated. "Hey, Chat...?"

"Yeah, Bug?" 

"Could we talk after you're done here?"

"You've got questions. I'll make sure you get answers." Chat agreed, giving a shooing motion with his hands. "Now go, m'lady. Or everyone will know what your pretty face looks like." He was more playful this time and Ladybug rolled her eyes before swinging out of sight.

"You love her..."

"Very observant of you." Chat growled, grabbing Gabriel's wrist and dragging him into the station. "I've captured Hawkmoth, and I figured it was only right that Paris decide what to do with him." 

"Um... Chat Noir, we know you're a great guy and an amazing hero... but that's Gabriel Agreste. Do you have any proof that he's in fact Hawkmoth?" Chat sighed his annoyance and nudged Gabriel.

"I am Hawkmoth." he said seriously, offering his hands to be cuffed. 

"He's been stripped of his powers so he can't akumatize anyone ever again. You shouldn't have any problems with him, but if you do, the Cat Blog is the best way to contact me. He'll probably have a couple requests to set his life in order. As long as you don't feel they're too outlandish, I'd grant him whatever he needs to come to terms with this."

The policemen cuffed Hawkmoth and escorted him to a cell. They came back to the front with the intention of asking Chat more about what happened but he was already gone. He had to get rid of any doubts Marinette had about him and he was frankly done with spending any more time with his father.  

Over the rooftops of Paris and to the one place he knew she'd be. It wasn't the akuma shelter. It was her old home. She was sitting on the balcony in the chair that was sitting there like it had never left, curled up and thinking to herself.

"If you keep your brow furrowed like that you're going to have some seriously grumpy looking wrinkles when you grow old." He said it in his usual playful banter but her reaction was to give him a sharp glare.

"How did you know that would work, Chat?" she asked seriously. Chat's act dropped and he leaned over the railing, staring out over a calmly familiar Paris skyline. The Eifle Tower was upright for the first time in years and hardly anyone would know until morning since it was so late it was early and it was a Tuesday. "And why did you trust Hawkmoth with your identity but not me?"

A tear fell down Marinette's cheek and Chat knew he had messed up. He knelt at her feet, gently wiping the tear away with his clawed thumb.

"I trust you, Marinette." he said quietly, looking down on the floor with a somewhat defeated expression. "I swear I do. I trust you more than life itself... I'm just... not ready to reveal myself yet... I took a calculated risk to avoid battle because I didn't want to see him hurt you again, but honestly... I'm terrified of what you'll think of me when you find out that I'm just an ordinary guy with a really shitty family..."

"...You're not an ordinary guy... You single handedly defeated Hawkmoth." Marinette said quietly. "I'm not sure why you waited for me to get fully recovered... I didn't do anything."

"That's not true, Marinette!" Chat defended, grabbing her hand in his own gently. "If not for you, I never would've had the bravery to do it. And not only that, but you did restore all of Paris. That's definitely something I could never pull off." 

"We just defeated Hawkmoth and here I am complaining..." Marinette sighed. Chat gave her hand a squeeze.

"It's a big change. I still feel like I'm dreaming." Chat assured, sitting on the ground and looking up at the stars. "This is the last time that Ladybug and Chat Noir will be together..."

"Maybe, but I think it would be interesting to see what Marinette and Chat when he's not Chat will look like together." Chat grimaced. 

"Would you mind if... I worked out a few things before I reveal myself to you?" he asked, voice so quiet Marinette hardly heard it.

"I wouldn't mind. Just don't take too long... You've been a really important friend to me in these last few months and... I don't want to lose you." He looked over at Marinette with a soft expression, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her.

"I don't want to lose you either, Marinette."

"We should probably return our Miraculouses soon..." she sighed.

"Suddenly not wanting to?"

"No... it's not that... But I've met Master Fu several times before I disappeared and... I just don't want to disappoint him with how my perception of the miraculous has changed..."

"Would you prefer it if I brought your miraculous back with mine and Hawkmoth's instead?" Chat was surprised to find Marinette's hand pressed against his forehead. "Um... Marinette? What are you doing?"

"You could've made a cat pun there. I'm making sure you're not sick." Chat blinked at her and then started laughing. 

"Oh, Marinette. I think you're blowing things out of proportion. I'm just feeling a little blue is all. I'll be fine." He offered his hand to help her up. "Come on, princess. You should get some sleep." 

He carried her back to the akuma shelter. They knew better than to let her sleep in her bed at the bakery and worry her parents. Marinette gave back the Miraculous of Creation to Chat before her head hit the pillow and she fell asleep and Chat tucked her in before making his way to Master Fu's.

"Hello, Master." Adrien greeted, giving a wave. Plagg was floating by his shoulder but he looked a little down in the dumps. Adrien could hardly blame him. The relationship he had with Plagg was a complicated one, but that didn't make it any less special to the two of them.

"Adrien. You are looking... well..." Master Fu greeted and Adrien raised an eyebrow to show he saw through that compliment. "The corruption of the akumas is still taking a toll..."

"It's hardly surprising. Nobody knew what would happen if I did it, not even Plagg. But I couldn't just let Hawkmoth destroy everything." Adrien shoved his hands in his pockets and retrieved the earrings and the broach, handing them to the old man.

"Ladybug has chosen not to return these herself?" Master Fu frowned but he set to work at putting them away. "I need yours too, Adrien."

"Just give me a moment, old man." Plagg snapped at the wise man, arms crossed before he relaxed and looked at Adrien.

"Plagg..." Adrien's voice cracked and he started crying.

"Oh, I should've known this would start the waterworks... You're such a baby..." the kwami scolded but that didn't change the fact that the black cat sniffled and then broke into tears, flying to hug Adrien's cheek.

"I'm gonna miss you so much...." Adrien whimpered, hand moving to cradle Plagg.

"I'm gonna miss you too, kid." Plagg admitted, nuzzling against his human's face. "I wasn't sure about you at first. You were eager to prove yourself and a complete nerd... But you're the best Chat Noir I've ever looked after... You've sacrificed so much in the name of good and it's actually really inspiring... I'm not gonna sugar coat it, your life kind of sucks. And it's my fault... but you've never blamed me."

"It's not your fault at all, Plagg. You've made me who I am..." Adrien assured, rubbing his eye with his free hand. "I wish we didn't have to say goodbye..."

"Me too, kid... me too..." Plagg sighed softly, hugging Adrien's finger before floating back. "You've got to let me go. And don't underestimate yourself. You and Marinette will work things out."

"Thanks. Thanks for your faith in me." Adrien murmured, finger brushing against the ring. "I'll never forget you, Plagg."

"You don't need me to be a great man, Adrien." Plagg promised and Adrien took off the ring, crying for real when the Kwami vanished from sight and into the ring.

Master Fu took the ring gently and put it away.

"Plagg's right you know." he said but he got no response. Master Fu turned to look but Adrien was already gone.


	7. Fall Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be an interesting chapter, I think. Sorry, for being late, Tumblr is murdering my favorite art blogs so with permission of the artists, I've been saving a lot of their works before they're gone on my computer. I'm excited to announce the changes on my website, including the fact that it's the most accurate way to tell what I'm doing now that Tumblr is basically turning into a sinking ship.  
> It's jeanneriddle.weebly.com and as always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your support!

The Agreste Mansion felt lonelier than if ever had before when Adrien returned to it. He wandered the empty halls, feeling the cold reality set in. He'd turned in his own father to the police and he was no longer Paris' cat-themed superhero. He missed his father to some degree, he missed having a way to be with Marinette, he missed his kwami, and he missed the freedom from reality that being Chat Noir had given him. He stared up at the picture of him and his father, trying desperately to understand what it was that had forced his father down this path... or if he had chosen it, why? 

It wasn't long at all before the police arrived at his doorstep and he made his way to answer the door, grateful to not be alone anymore, even if the company wouldn't be what he needed or wanted. They took him to the station and he waited among the cops for the counselor they summoned to look after him until his custody affairs were settled. 

The counselor was a kind woman who reminded him a great deal of Madame Bustier. She set him up with a room and he fell into bed with a heavy sigh. After having such an exhaustingly long day, it wasn't terribly surprising that sleep hit him hard.

His dreams weren't sweet ones, though. He was plagued by his usual nightmares, but he was so exhausted that he couldn't even be bothered to wake up from them. 

The sound he woke to were a bunch of cheers for Ladybug and Chat Noir that echoed through the streets of Paris and were possibly the loudest and most sincere sounds of joy he'd ever heard. He was covered in a cold sweat from his restless night of sleep and glancing at the clock he'd only gotten around two hours but he didn't mind. He looked out the window to see people dancing in the street, hugging, and beaming. 

It was bittersweet. He had no one to celebrate with, but he was happy for everyone in Paris he'd worked so hard to protect during the last few years. He got up and made his way to the kitchen.

"Morning, Madame Defenseur." he greeted, seeing her reading the paper as he sat across from her.

"Good morning, Adrien. Are you hungry? You can help yourself to some food. I have some croissants in the cabinet next to the fridge." she replied, taking off her reading glasses and setting down her paper.

"Thanks." he murmured quietly, only grabbing one croissant. He didn't have much of an appetite. 

"Um... Adrien... You seem to have some really powerful night terrors... As your counselor, I just wanted to make sure that your homelife wasn't..."

"No need to worry, the closest thing to abuse I ever endured was isolation in college, but that was a while ago."

"Is that what your night terrors are about?" M. Defenseur asked with concerned eyes.

"No. That hardly bothers me anymore..." Adrien confessed, sitting back down but making no move to eat.

"Did you know that your father was Hawk Moth?" she asked carefully, a sad expression on her face.

"I did not." Adrien said evenly. It was true at one point and he channeled that instance in order to make his lie feel more convincing. 

"You're taking it rather well..." 

"Well, it's not exactly news that my father and I have a rocky relationship. I sort of avoided spending time with him these last couple years... More than he had avoided me before I started spending my time in other ways."

"What caused the rift between you?"

"He didn't approve of me spending my time trying to look for somebody important to me." Adrien said seriously, fists clenching.

"Did you find them?"

"..." Adrien was quiet and Madame Defenseur was quiet as well. 

The following day was an incredibly long experience. Hawk Moth's trial. It was the shortest one in history and Adrien honestly would've rather watched it from home rather than being present. 

Gabriel had been quiet for a moment, staring at his son as he took the stand before heaving a heavy sigh and confessing his crimes wholeheartedly. Naturally, the jury wasn't required when he confessed but the conclusion that everyone in that room had come to about the man who had destroyed so many lives over the years was unanimous and the tension palpable. Until he explained that he could no longer akumatize people and then the shoulders of everyone present seemed to relax.

The judge then went on to explain that the next Hawk Moth related trial would be over Adrien's custody for the next six months until he was legally allowed to live on his own. 

Adrien found himself sitting in court again the next day, feeling rather defeated. It seemed like Natalie was going to receive charge of him, the judge had certainly been leaning that way. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with it, other than it guaranteed that Marinette would probably never trust him again... not that it mattered much.

"I object, your honor." Gabriel spoke from a stand. "I would prefer that Madame Sancoeur not have custody of my son."

"And pray tell, why is that, Monsieur Agreste?" the judge asked, obviously annoyed with the man for interrupting her summary of the trial.

"Madame Sancoeur was aware of my actions as Hawk Moth, she has been for years. I would prefer it if my crimes didn't tarnish my son's reputation further than they already have."

"Monsieur Agreste, with no family to speak of, and no acceptable guardian your son will end up in foster care for the next six months, and that's assuming he's lucky." the judge explained, glancing over at the minor in question.

"I'd like to submit my interest in becoming Adrien Agreste's guardian!" The voice that called out from the stands was honey sweet and he knew it well. He looked over his shoulder, eyes scanning the crowd for the woman he knew as his mother. She wasn't hard to spot since she had stood and raised her hand in the air to draw their attention.

"And who are you, exactly?" the judge asked, raising a disapproving eyebrow.

"Sabine Cheng, your honor." the woman answered and Adrien stared at her in a daze.

"And what is your relationship with Adrien Agreste?"

"He's like a son to me, your honor. He spent a lot of time with us after my daughter went missing due to one of Hawk Moth's akumas... He put so much effort into trying to find her, it's only fair I repay him with a loving and stable home."

"Adrien, is what she says true?" the judge's attention flew to the blonde boy and he nodded.

"Yes. A great deal of my time over the last few years has been with Madame Cheng and Monsieur Dupain." Adrien answered, feeling something close to lighthearted for the first time in years.

"Madame Cheng, can you say with absolute certainty that he will have a good home with you and your family?"

"We make a great deal of income from our bakery, It's located next to the Place des Vosges and now that Paris is recovering, business is booming again."

"And you're absolutely sure that your husband would also consent to this?"

"Tom thinks of Adrien like a son." Sabine said confidently. The judge considered her a moment before looking at Gabriel Agreste with raised eyebrows.

"What do you think, Monsieur Agreste? I realize your preferred guardian for Adrien is yourself but since you'll be facing some serious time in prison you must realize that's not possible."

"I know... While the Dupain-Cheng bakery is far from my ideal environment for my son, I think it would do him good. My influence on him is obviously not healthy and I can tell that Madame Cheng most definitely cares for my son. He deserves a home. A good one. And he will get that with them."

Adrien stared at his father in disbelief, blinking as he processed it all. He couldn't imagine why Gabriel was being so accepting of his circumstances.

"Then I will put Adrien Agreste's care in your hands, Madame Cheng. There will, of course, be regular check-ups to make sure he's being well treated and cared for."

"Naturally. Thank you, your honor. This means a great deal to me." Sabine said, giving Adrien a soft, motherly smile.

Adrien's heart swelled. After mountains of paperwork, he pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Oh, Adrien... My dear boy, how are you?" Sabine asked, combing her fingers through his hair. 

"I've been better..." Adrien admitted, starting to cry. Sabine tended to have that effect on him. He could be honest with Marinette's parents, they were always so accepting of him.

"Shh..." she cooed, rubbing his back to soothe him. "It's alright. I promise."

"What about Marinette?" he asked weakly, arms wrapping around her just a little tighter.

"Marinette might not be happy about it, but she's also a kindhearted sweetheart. You needed a home, I'm sure she'll come around. I think it will be quite the surprise for both her and Tom though."

"You mean you didn't talk through this with them?"

"You're family, Adrien. That's more important than risking your chance at a happy future because I waited to long to throw in the hat and give you a home."

"Thanks, mom..." he whispered, rubbing the tears from his cheeks and sniffling as he let out a shaky breath.

They went home together but Sabine had to reassure him again when they reached the bakery door. He swallowed nervously, following her inside hesitantly. 

"I'm home." Sabine called and Tom and Marinette looked up from the sofa. Marinette stared at Adrien with an obviously uncomfortable expression on her face.

"Mama, what's he doing here?" she asked, eyes not leaving Adrien.

"Well, his custody trial was today and I couldn't imagine letting him leave there without a home after all he's done for us, so he'll be staying with us until he's ready to leave the nest on his own." Sabine explained and Tom stood and pulled Adrien into a short hug. Adrien hugged back, grateful to have so much support when he was sure he'd never have any again.

"After all he's done for us? How do you know it's not an act? He could've been pretending to care just to look good." 

"Marinette Marie Dupain-Cheng!" Sabine said sternly, eyes narrowed. "That is not how I raised you, young lady. Even if your words held any truth, we don't turn down someone in need."

"Yes... mama..." Marinette shifted awkwardly, looking at the floor with red cheeks.

"I want to help with your trust issues of him. I know how much you used to like him and I don't know what changed unless you knew who Hawk Moth was, but Adrien has risked hypothermia in freezing conditions passing out fliers with your face on them during the entire time you were missing. I don't know what brought you home to us, but Adrien tried his best to be a part of it." Sabine explained, hugging her daughter. "I love you, and I know that his presence makes you skittish, but Adrien is a great boy. One that is in need of a good home. Let's show him that we can give him that, can you do that for me?"

"Yes, mama.. I will try my best." Marinette agreed with a sigh. Tom looked over at Adrien.

"You hungry, son? You spent all day at court, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I am a little hungry." he admitted, trying to ignore Marinette's ever present stare.

"Alright then, I'll heat up some soup for you." Tom agreed, making his way through the kitchen to feed him. 

Dinner was delicious, even despite Marinette's wary glances his way. There was a spare room but it was currently filled with a lot of furniture, boxes, and dust so until they could clear it out, they set up an air mattress on Marinette's floor. She obviously wasn't too happy about it but she didn't say anything.

Adrien was buried under a warm duvet, staring up at the ceiling when she finally spoke, breaking the tense silence.

"Did you know?"

"No. I didn't." he answered, rolling over to look in her direction. "But your reaction to seeing me makes sense if you knew."

"Everyone says the same thing about you. Nino, Alya, mama, papa, hell, even Chat Noir says you spent a lot of time handing out posters to find me."

"You know Chat Noir?" he asked with raised eyebrows, playing dumb. He hated that he couldn't be honest with her, that he couldn't tell her that the reason he was taking his father being Hawk Moth so well was because she had given him months to adjust to that fact through his alter ego. 

"Stop changing the subject." Marinette growled before sighing again. "I definitely didn't think that he'd let you get a tattoo." 

"He didn't have much of a choice in the matter. By the time he realized I had it, it was too late." Adrien explained, looking at the arm that was still covered in black, tribal-esque markings. 

"What's it suppose to be?"

"A reminder of all the years that you were missing... Goodnight, Marinette." With that he huddled further under the blankets and tried to drift off to sleep.

She was quiet but eventually, he could hear her quietly snoring, though the sound was so faint he hardly noticed it. It was kind of cute on some level, but he shoved down that opinion.

His slept was the usual, even sleeping in a home that made him feel safe couldn't stop his terrors, but that was to be expected they were caused by absorbing akumas, that wasn't going to go away, not when they'd left a permanent mark on him as Marinette had unintentionally reminded him.

He woke the next morning to find Marinette still asleep so he simply chose to go downstairs and eat breakfast. He saw Sabine and Tom sitting on the sofa, talking quietly but seriously about something. 

"Good morning..." he greeted cautiously. Sabine smiled. 

"Good morning, Adrien." she replied back, standing and giving him a hug.

"Sorry to interrupt." 

"Not at all, we were talking about you so it's only right you be involved."

"Talking about me?" Adrien questioned, feeling nervous. Tom nodded gravely.

"We got a call from the prison they're holding your father in. It seems he's requested to talk with you." Tom explained, frowning.

"Oh. That's all? I suppose I might as well see what he has to say..." Adrien was relieved that it wasn't something along the lines of his tossing and turning had disturbed them enough that they decided he wasn't worth the trouble.

"If that's the case, I'll give you a ride there. I need to run some errands today anyways."

"Thanks, mom." Adrien smiled softly, pouring himself a glass of milk and drinking it rather quickly. "I'll go put on something besides pajamas and we can go."

He made his way upstairs and Tom and Sabine shared a glance.

The ride to the prison was quiet, as was the walk inside. Sabine wasn't sure what to say, and Adrien honestly didn't want to talk about it. 

"What do you want?" Adrien asked as he sat down on the other side of the table, across from his father.

"I thought I raised you to be more polite."

"I am really not in the mood right now."

"So... how is Marinette?"

"She trusts me exactly as much as you'd expect given the circumstances. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Adrien, I never meant to hurt you..."

"Well, it's years too late for that." Adrien growled, ruffling his hair frustratedly.

"I see it now... The Chat Noir side of you." Gabriel murmured sadly. "I feel like a fool for never noticing it before."

"You are a fool." Adrien sighed, straightening his hair out again.

"Because I chose to act upon what I believe?"

"No. I did that every day that I fought one of your damned akumas." 

"I know I'm a fool." Gabriel admitted, biting his lip. "I wish I had done things differently."

"I can't feel my arm, did you know?"

"You what?"

"It's from destroying all the akumas. It's not a tattoo, it's their mark. And with it comes a lot of nightmares and a lack of sensation. You did this to me. You took her away and it costed me a whole lot more than her trust... but I want to believe you called me hear for more than catching up."

"I did. I need you to bring Ladybug and Chat Noir to see me." Gabriel said uncomfortably.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not. It's an emergency and I can think of no one more qualified to handle it than Paris' heroes."

"You expect me to make her willingly come see you? I'm honestly hating every minute in here. I'm certainly not doing it when I don't know why."

Gabriel was quiet for a minute, staring at his son as he weighed his options. 

"I need to let you both know what the future holds, and while it is a family matter, I figured Ladybug also has a right to know my motives."

"What do you mean?"

"If you bring Ladybug and Chat Noir here... I'll tell you about... your mother."


	8. The Dark History of Emilie Agreste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for being late. I promise I'm trying to catch up, December is just busier than I thought it would be. I still plan on having part two come out on the 29th of next month, but it might be earlier than that since I won't be traveling over the holidays. If I get caught up before Christmas, you can expect the series to end two days early, on the forth instead of the sixth. Once I'm down to three open fics again instead of five, it will be much harder for me to fall behind.  
> And I know how season two ends, but I've had this idea since I started this fic. This was always the climax and plot I had planned so even though it's inconsistent, it's staying.

Sabine could tell something was bothering Adrien while they drove around Paris, but even when she asked, Adrien would give her a vague answer and shrug her off. 

He was trying to think of a way to convince Marinette to pick up the Ladybug Miraculous again. He knew he couldn't get Chat's ring first and talk to her about it. But he also couldn't approach her as himself. He thought long and hard about what to do. While they were shopping for some clothes for him, he picked up a pair of black converse, black leather gloves, and a black hoodie, specifically with the intention that he'd approach Marinette with them.

It was a day before he finally found an opportunity to confront her. She was going to go hang out at Alya house for the day. Adrien watched which direction she went in and quickly put on his shoes, gloves, and hoodie, quickly following her.

She turned down an alley and he followed, thinking it would be the perfect place to approach her. A little suspicious, but that was unavoidable, they need to be away from prying eyes. He wrapped his arm around her waist and covered her mouth gently.

"Shh... my lady, it's me," he whispered in her ear and any muscles that had tensed relaxed.

"Chat, normal people announce themselves in dark alleyways when they have pure intentions." She turned to look at him and he turned his head so that the hood obscured his face.

"Sorry, Marinette, I'm still not ready to show you my identity." He said with an apologetic tone. "I'm here for business..."

"That doesn't sound good." Marinette murmured, sighing. "What's up?"

"Hawkmoth contacted me." Chat said seriously, resting his forehead against the back of her head. "He wants to see us both, in our superhero get-ups."

"What could he possibly want?" she questioned, eyebrows furrowing together.

"I don't know, but it sounded serious. Seems like he thinks that this isn't over..." he answered, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "He says he'll talk to us through glass if we don't trust that he's going to steal the miraculous off us."

"I'm not getting Tikki back just so Hawkmoth can try to talk down his situation," Marinette stated firmly.

"I agree. I don't think that's what's going on here, though." Chat promised, sighing quietly. "Marinette, I know I have no right to ask, but I really need you to help me with this."

She was quiet a moment as she leaned against him, contemplating his words.

"Why do you need this?" she asked evenly. He was quiet as he considered how to answer without giving away his identity. 

"Adrien deserves a chance to understand his father's actions. He's my friend and since Hawkmoth will only tell us, I need you there with me..."

"What's to say Adrien doesn't already know?" she questioned coldly.

"Adrien is a friend from my civilian life. He was texting me about it. He's pretty messed up right now." Chat explained, giving her hand a squeeze. "Please, Marinette. You know that I'd never ask you to do something you're uncomfortable with unless it was important. Whatever Hawkmoth is going to tell us, it is important."

"...Only for you, kitty." she finally said, sighing. Chat relaxed, nuzzling her shoulder with his nose. 

"Thank you, my lady."

"Someday, I expect to see that face of yours when it's not covered in black leather," she commanded and he chuckled. 

"Cats honor, you will. Just not yet," he assured, gently taking her hand. "I know you were probably on your way somewhere, but we should probably get this done."

"Yeah. Let's go talk to Master Fu." Marinette agreed, letting him go ahead of her so she didn't risk his identity. 

The walk to Master Fu's was quiet, neither of them sure what to say to the other, and afraid to bring up something they weren't ready to deal with yet, like the lingering touches, the pet names, and Chat's confession of love from months ago. 

"Master Fu?" Marinette called once they were inside his place. The old man's head peeked around the corner.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir." he greeted with a tentative smile. "I was not aware that you knew each other's identities."

"He knows mine, I don't know his." she answered and Master Fu shot Adrien a confused look. 

"She's agreed not to look at my face until I sort some things out," he explained with a bashful look.

"I see." Fu thought for a moment, glancing between the two of them. "There's a reason you came here."

"Yes. We need our miraculous back for the day. Hawkmoth talked to Chat and apparently, there's something he's desperately needing to tell us." she explained. Chat nodded.

"It could be a trap," Fu stated seriously.

"Unlikely. He promised he'd talk to us through three-inch, shatter-proof glass if we insisted." Chat informed. "And he knows my identity. I doubt he'd try anything." 

"Are you both sure about this?" 

"I have my reservations, but it sounds like he thinks Paris is still in danger from what Chat told me. I think we should at least hear him out." Marinette answered.

"Marinette, I know you don't like being Ladybug anymore. If you want I could pass it on to someone else who proves worthy." the old man suggested and she smiled softly.

"Thanks, Master, but that won't be necessary," she promised. "I put too much blame on Tikki and being Ladybug for my situation, but it's not her fault. Besides, if there is another threat to Paris, we don't have time to find someone else."

"That's very noble of you, Marinette, I only hope this proves to be a fluke."

"Do you think it could involve the missing miraculous?" she questioned and he nodded.

"The Miraculous of Persuasian could definitely be dangerous in the wrong hands, especially since it could be used to put blame on others. Be wary." Master Fu warned, turning to his antique record player and typing in the combination.

He carefully scooped the miraculous into his hands and gave them to their perspective heroes. The red and black kwamis appeared and Plagg crossed his arms, shooting Adrien a glare.

"What, did you miss me or something, kid?" he teased and Adrien let out a laugh.

"Maybe a little. But I did come here with the intention of us teaming up again if that's cool with you." Adrien replied with a smile, slipping the ring onto his finger. 

"I suppose I can be persuaded, with the right amount of Camembert," Plagg smirked, causing Adrien to shake his head.

"Claws out, Plagg," he called and a green light filled the room. His black hood was replaced with gold locks and leather cat ears, a mask lined his face, and his usual getup replaced the rest of it. 

"Marinette, why are you here?" Tikki asked quietly, looking at her human with a concerned expression.

"A hero's work is never done," Marinette answered, putting on the earrings dutifully. "I'm sorry for how I've acted over the past several months, Tikki. That wasn't my best hour."

"I understand, Marinette. You were under a lot of pressure." Tikki reminded and Marinette gave her a teary smile. 

"Forgive me?" 

"Always. Now, let's go figure out what Hawkmoth wants." the kwami encouraged with a gentle smile.

"Tikki, spots on!" With those words, a pink glow filled the room and Paris' spotted heroine took Marinette's place. "We'll be back this evening to return our miraculous if Hawkmoth is lying. But we'll discuss it with you if he's telling the truth."

The heroes lept and swung through Paris' rooftops until they arrived at the prison. Five minutes later, they were sat in front of Gabriel Agreste who simply stared at the two of them for a moment.

"I assume you called us here for a reason, Gabriel." Ladybug stated, breaking the silence. Gabriel shook himself out of a trance and nodded.

"Yes, I did. I want to tell you about Adrien's mother," he confessed, looking down his cuffed hands in shame.

"What does Adrien's mother have to do with anything?" Ladybug asked, looking at him with an irritated glare.

"Well, she's the source of my motives... and your next threat." Gabriel sighed softly. "When we got married, Emilie was the sweetest woman I have ever met. She had pure intentions for everything, and she was such a skilled and creative actress. Most of the movies she ever starred in never aired because she didn't have artistic freedom and she'd fight for it."

"Did that change?" Chat asked, trying his best to keep his voice from shaking.

"Yes. But gradually. We had our honeymoon in Tibet. It was a beautiful experience, filled with inspiration and discovery. It's where we first found the miraculous." Gabriel explained.

* * *

Eighteen Years ago, in Tibet

"Gabriel!" Emilie called, searching through the trees, giggling. "When we agreed to play hide and seek, I thought you'd go easy on me." 

Gabriel held back a chuckle as he hid behind a tree. Her voice drew nearer and he stealthily moved through a place where the underbrush was thinnest and broke a couple branches to give her hints.

"Am I at least getting closer?" she questioned, receiving no response except a distant crack of some twigs. She followed their sound, playfully calling for her husband.

Gabriel looked over his shoulder with a smirk, and then his chest connected with something hard and he let out a grunt as he fell backward. Everything went black.

He opened his eyes to find Emilie crouched over him, with a concerned expression but relief flooded her features when she saw him blink at her with a dazed smile.

"Gabriel, are you alright? How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked frantically, holding her hands in the air.

"Seven. I'm fine... Just wasn't looking where I was going." he murmured, looking for what he'd run into. It was an old wooden arch that marked the gateway to a flight of crumbling stone stairs. "I don't remember the camping pamphlet mentioning anything about a historical site." His brows furrowed as he looked at it.

"It didn't. We're a couple days out on our hike, though. And we're kind of far from the path..." Emilie reasoned, raising an eyebrow. "It doesn't look very well maintained."

"Agreed." Gabriel hummed in thought. "Do you want to check it out?"

"Aren't you worried it will be dangerous?" Emilie asked with a smile. 

"Of course not, I have you here to use as a shield." he teased and she shoved him playfully, causing them to erupt in a fit of giggles. "Why not? It will be a unique experience we can tell our children about when we have some."

"Won't that be an interesting day?" Gabriel mused, standing up and brushing some leaves off himself. "Shall we?" He offered her his arm and she took it with a coy smile. 

The stairs went on for ages, but eventually, they came to a ruined temple. They took in the sights with awe.

"It's a pity we didn't bring a camera," Emilie commented, eyes hovering over the grand courtyard.

She walked up the steps and passed the remnants of the doorway, looking around with awe. 

"Emilie, please be careful," he warned, not trusting the structure.

"I'll be careful," she promised dismissively. "You're so paranoid... Gabriel, you should come see this. There's an old wishing well!"

Gabriel made his way up toward the steps but as he reached the first stair, he heard a rumbling noise, followed immediately by a surprised yelp as the floor collapsed under her. 

"Emilie!" He screamed, kneeling towards the edge to look down. Emilie was laying on some rubble, unconscious but it looked like she was breathing. 

Gabriel carefully climbed down the rocky walls to her side, feeling for a pulse. She was alive and he breathed a sigh of relief. She stirred and looked at him with a chuckle. 

"Guess it was my turn to get knocked out, huh?" she quipped and he glared. 

"That was not funny. At least I only ran into something. What if you had gotten killed?" He cupped her face, expression softening. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No. I feel fine. I might have a couple bruises later, but everything moves the way it's supposed to." she assured, moving all of her joints to soothe him. She stood and looked around, eyes falling on two bright objects on the floor near them. "Gabriel, look at these." she murmured, bending down to pick them up. 

Two small creatures appeared from nowhere and they let out surprised screams. 

"Hello. I'm Dusuu!" the blue one said with a wave.

"And I'm Nooroo." the purple one introduced.

* * *

"We took the miraculous home with us, she took Nooroo, and I took Dusuu..." Gabriel explained, rubbing his brow. "I had no idea that it would change her so deeply. If I had, I never would've taken those miraculous." 

"How did she change?" Chat asked, concerned. 

"It was minute. She was always good at acting so I never noticed how she had changed until it was almost too late... for Adrien... It was too late for her." Gabriel paused, trying to get a grip on his emotions. "The night she disappeared... I had been working late on a design... But when I got to the room the bed was empty. She always got lots of sleep, her constitution was weak. I searched the house, but just when I had almost given up on checking my room again, I saw Adrien's bedroom was cracked open... She was standing over him, knife in hand, looking at him as if she was contemplating how best to... to kill him."

"What?" Ladybug and Chat questioned in unison. Chat's voice was one of disbelief, while Ladybug sounded almost concerned.

"I spoke up, not loud enough to wake Adrien. I didn't want him to see his mother like that." Gabriel continued, tears running down his cheeks. "The worst part is, whenever I replay that night in my head, her actions never felt foreign or out of place... Like I knew she wasn't the same person I married and I just accepted it... She turned to look at me, and the smile she gave me... There was something so sick about it. I begged her to come back to bed and after a moment she agreed. Once we were far enough away from Adrien that he wouldn't hear anything, I knocked her out..." 

All three were quiet as two of them contemplated his story and he took time to reign in his emotions. 

"I took her to the atrium, and I made sure she couldn't get out. And when she woke... the things she said... She talked about using my miraculous in tangent with hers to take over the world... That she wanted me to rule this world she would create out of fear and respect alongside her... But the worst is when she said that Adrien was a weakness and we needed to purge him to attain this perfect world... Dusuu and I tried desperately to use the Peacock miraculous to change her mind, but it never worked... as if she was somehow immune or perhaps that her primal desire to rule unchallenged outweighed my fear that she'd remain like this... my love for the woman she was once..."

"You're lying." Chat said with conviction. It had to be a lie. Gabriel's features fell.

"One day, I made the foolish mistake of getting to close to her while wearing my miraculous, and when she reached for it, I lost contact with Dusuu. She did something to it, broke it so that I couldn't use it anymore. But it always seemed to glow whenever it was near her. That was the day I broke down and used a machine I'd been preparing since the night I discovered her intentions. It's designed to keep her in a state of healthy comatose. As long as I continue to reset the machine every Sunday..."

"Today's Sunday." Ladybug stated nervously. 

"She plans on using the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous to bring her perfect world into effect. In her ideal world, she'd have control of every miraculous, every power they manifest. She's probably waking as we speak. Her plan will start with the Peacock miraculous, but if she gets a hold of yours... we'll be doomed."

"Gabriel... what was your wish going to be?" Chat asked evenly, eyes narrowed at him. 

"I was going to wish the miraculous out of existence. If they never existed, they wouldn't have corrupted her. The world would be better off."

"You can't know that." Ladybug countered, slamming her hand on the table. "The miraculous have always been there for us as a species. Without them, it's possible that we would've been killed in a great disaster long ago. Every wish has consequences. Could you even fathom what yours would've been?"

"I'm not saying that I was right, Ladybug," Gabriel growled. "Everyone makes mistakes... but I never wanted to bring to light that night. I never wanted Adrien to find out..."

"What should we do to defeat her?" Chat questioned, so quiet that his breath was louder.

"You will need as many miraculous as possible. She has nothing to lose which makes her more dangerous than I ever was. Assemble a team. A large, unified one, and hope for the best... The good news is if you fail... you won't have to live in the world she concocts, because you'll be dead."

The heroes left the prison and discussed Hawkmoth's words on a rooftop.

"I don't want to believe he's telling the truth." Chat admitted, hugging himself.

"Were you close to Madame Agreste?" Ladybug asked and Chat nodded gravely. "Well, Gabriel told us about the safe, if we're quick enough, we could probably get the Peacock miraculous returned to Master Fu before she wakes up. And we can handle it from there."

The safe was open and very clearly empty, Gabriel's office was littered and wrecked. The heroes shared a grave glance. They needed to see Master Fu. 

It was a stormy evening as if foretelling the era that would arise with their new arch-nemesis. Master Fu's lights were off, but they thought nothing of it. They'd wake him for this. It was important.

They crept inside, glad for the shelter from the rain. 

Inside, Master Fu was lying dead, a knife in his throat, and a blood pooling around him.


	9. Season of Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I've been so late with posting the rest of these chapters. I've been trying to get my life organized and that takes a lot of time, but hopefully, soon I'll be on a smooth enough track to have everything done. In the meantime, thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy this next chapter. The last one soon to follow. Look forward to part two!

Lightning illuminated the room, making it easy to see the panicked footprints of high heels that dotted the room. It was disorderly and the duo could only stare in shock. Hawkmoth had been right, their new enemy was much worse.

"M-M-Master?" Ladybug asked quietly, kneeling down to look at him. The knife stuck out of his throat at an odd looking angle and it was hard to look at.

"Ch-Chat Noir, Ladybug!" a small green kwami flew out of the old record player towards them, tears dripping from his face. Wayzz wiped them away pathetically.

"Wayzz, what happened?" Chat Noir asked, gently snatching the turtle kwami out of the air and cradling him to his chest. After a few sniffles, Wayzz calmed himself enough to speak.

"The bearer of the Peacock Miraculous. She was here... She tried to use her power to persuade Master F-Fu to reveal the locations of all the miraculous but... he killed himself before he could." He explained, burrowing against Chat's chest with a weak sigh. 

"He killed himself?" Ladybug questioned, standing up and looking at the kwami with furrowed brows. "I suppose I understand his reasons... but what happened next?"

"She started throwing things around... She was furious..." Wayzz answered, sniffling.

"Did she find them?" Chat questioned, giving the turtle a comforting squeeze. Wayzz shook his head.

"I don't think she knew what any of them looked like... She didn't even take my miraculous..." Wayzz answered, staring at the blood-smeared, turtle shell bracelet that hung pathetically from one of Master Fu's wrists.

"How did she even find this place?" Ladybug wondered out loud, at a loss for what to do. Their Master was dead and they had no way of knowing how to defeat Madame Agreste. It was obvious that she was relentless. 

"It's possible that Duusu accidentally revealed the location of the Kwamis... Or if he did it on purpose, I don't think it was something he wanted to do..." Wayzz's head hung low. "Now all of the miraculous caretakers are gone..."

"Wayzz, things may look grim, but we have to fight back." Ladybug encouraged, gently stroking his head to calm him.

"We have to gather a team of Miraculous wielders to stand up against her." Chat determined seriously. "I know it was Hawkmoth's idea, but I think he's right that it's our best option." Ladybug nodded in agreement and Wayzz hesitantly did the same. 

Ladybug straightened out the record player and typed in the code after revealing the hidden panel. Chat cradled Wayzz with one hand and slowly removed the Miraculous of Protection from Master Fu's body with the other, closing his eyes and giving the old man a moment of respectful silence. He pulled out a tissue and wiped the blood off of it, before pocketing it and sighing softly as Wayzz vanished into his miraculous for the time being. 

"Marinette... Do you think this is going to work?" he asked quietly, Ladybug paused in her collecting of all the miraculous and looked at him with a soft expression.

"It might not... But if we don't try..."

"I know..." Chat agreed solemnly, distributing the miraculous that Ladybug handed him to different pockets on his suit. "How are we going to assemble a team?"

"Well, I know at least a class of good people from college that would be an excellent start..." Ladybug suggested and Chat frowned.

"You really want to put our friends in danger?"

"Everyone's in danger now, whether they know it or not. If she wins, they'll still be in a bad situation..." Marinette reasoned and Chat finally nodded in agreement. 

"You were supposed to meet Alya today... She's as good a place to start as any." He reasoned and she nodded in agreement, taking his hand and leading him out of the awful scene. She paused looking over her shoulder.

"Sorry, Master... When this is over, I promise you'll get a proper funeral." she murmured softly, wiping away a tear quickly and pulling out her yo-yo. Soon they were standing outside Alya's door. And the spotted heroine tentatively knocked on the door.

"Ladybug, you have to help, my friend Marinette is missing! I don't know what to do." Alya answered with panic and Ladybug gave the girl an apologetic look. She should've texted Alya to let her know she wasn't coming instead of worrying her like this.

"Alya, there's no need to worry... I'm here." she comforted, taking a deep breath. "Tikki, spots off," she ordered and a pink glow covered the room as she revealed her identity. Alya's eyes grew wide with shock before her fist shot out and punched Marinette roughly in the arm. "Ouch!... I deserved that..."

"Yeah, you did." Alya agreed, narrowing her eyes. "What were you thinking, making me worry like that? And furthermore, what are you doing leaping around Paris with Chat Noir? Hawkmoth is defeated."

"There's a new villain..." Chat answered grimly.

"She's much worse than Hawkmoth ever was... If we're going to defeat her, we need help..." Marinette explained with a sullen face. "Would you like to become a superhero?"

"What?! Seriously?" Alya questioned, face lighting up.

"It's going to be incredibly dangerous, Alya. She's already killed one person." Marinette said seriously and Alya grew serious before nodding.

"If it's that serious that you both need help, then, yes, I'm in." She confirmed with a nod.

"Alya, I grant you the Fox Miraculous of Illusion, with it, you have the power to make others see what you want them to see," Marinette stated, holding her hand towards Chat expectantly. He dug out the necklace from one of his pockets before handing it to her. Marinette passed the Miraculous to Alya and Alya put it on with a fury in her eyes. "We don't know where she is, so stay alert and let us know if you're in danger, and we'll be on our way. You're now its caretaker."

"Hello, I'm Trixx." a fox kwami introduced with a smile, bowing. "I'll be your kwami, from now on. I am the one who gives you the power to make illusions. When you need to suit up, just say, 'Trixx, Let's Pounce'." 

"Wow. This is so much to take in." Alya mused, unable to hide her excited smile. 

"We have to go, we're assembling a team. Marinette will send you a text when we're ready to fight. In the meantime, stay safe." Chat instructed, giving a wave before Marinette suited back up and they made their way to their next destination.

Chat was the one to knock this time and a bewildered looking Nino answered the door.

"Woah, Ladybug and Chat Noir?" he questioned, looking between the two of them. "I must be dreaming."

"This is no dream." Chat retorted, and Nino pinched himself to confirm it.

"Listen, we need your help, Nino." Ladybug explained the situation and Nino nodded to show he understood. 

"I get that its dangerous, but I'd rather you guys not go in alone. I might not know you guys, but if you're putting your lives on the line to save us, then its only fair that I do the same."

"In that case..." Ladybug paused as she thought about which miraculous to give him. "Nino Lahiffe, I give you the Turtle Miraculous of Protection. With it, you can protect those around you."

"Dude, awesome." Nino murmured as he put on the bracelet. 

"Hello, my name is Wayzz and from now on, I will be your kwami."

"Wayzz will explain everything. We have a lot of deliveries to make before we're done for the night. Stay safe, Nino." Chat murmured and they once again left.

There were a great many things left for the duo to do, but early in the morning, they had finally completed handing out all of the miraculous to people they trusted.

Marinette was reluctant because of her past with Chloe, but Chat insisted that the wealthy girl could be of help. She ended up with the Bee Miraculous of Subjection. Chloe promised to be a good superhero and help to the best of her abilities.

Juleka was given the Butterfly Miraculous of Generosity. 

Rose was granted the Pig Miraculous of Pacifism. 

Kim received the Dog Miraculous of Perception.

Sabrina was given the Monkey Miraculous of Enhancement.

Max received the Rat Miraculous of Alertness.

Ivan was granted the Ox Miraculous of Durability.

Marc was given the Goat Miraculous of Faith.

Kagami got the Dragon Miraculous of Persistence.

Luka received the Snake Miraculous of Reincarnation.

Nathaniel was granted the Horse Miraculous of Adventure.

Mylene was given the Rabbit Miraculous of Empathy.

Alix received the Tiger Miraculous of Velocity.

The last Miraculous that wasn't in the hands of Emilie Agreste went to Manon: the Rooster Miraculous of Security.

The duo said goodnight and returned home, falling into their beds in uneasy slumbers. They were too tired to plan what they needed to do. It would have to wait until tomorrow.


	10. A Death in the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know I start every chapter summary with an apology but this one is going to have the biggest apology. I'm sorry for taking so long to upload this last chapter. The truth is, I am not at all confident with fight scenes and I knew I couldn't avoid this one as I had with Hawkmoth's showdown. I have a couple other fics I need to wrap up before I get started on Part 2. But it's going to go into the aftermath of this chapter and how the ending of Part 1 effects Chat's life. Please look forward to it!

Adrien woke to his phone ringing not far from his head. He let out a long groan and reached for it blindly with his face buried in his pillow. However long he had been asleep for, it wasn’t long enough. Marinette let out a grumble of complaint from her raised bed. He finally found his phone among his pillows and answered it, pressing it to his ear.

“Hello?” He mumbled, banishing the exhaustion from his voice. If there was one thing he had learned well from his relentless modeling career it was how to act.

“Is this Adrien Agreste?” The voice on the other end asked seriously. It was one he didn’t recognize.

“This is. May I ask who’s calling?” Adrien questioned, hearing another annoyed grumble above him about how Marinette missed having her room to herself.

“This is the warden at La Santé Prison.” The voice paused as if trying to determine the best way to break news to the young man. “Your father was found dead in his cell this morning.”

“What?!” Adrien shot up to a sitting position, not wanting to believe what he had just heard. “Dead?”

“The mortician has found a total of seventy-six lacerations on him. They were quite shallow. Whoever did this, wanted him to die slowly and spared him no pain. We’re not sure how it happened or who did it. The video feed to his cell was shut off and none of the men on security detail last night can recall anything out of the ordinary. There should have been screams, some prisoners say there was, but my men recall no such thing… Your father knew how to get in contact with Ladybug and Chat Noir… I don’t suppose you do to?”

“No… I don’t know how to contact them…” Adrien’s heart was pounding in his head and he felt dizzy, sure the room around him was spinning at a sickening speed. He could feel Marinette’s eyes on him.

“I see… That’s a shame, we could really use their help sorting this mess out… My condolences on your loss, Monsieur Agreste.” And with that the warden hung up, leaving Adrien sitting in a state of shock with his phone still pressed to his cheek.

“Who was calling this early in the morning?” Marinette asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. They had only gotten maybe forty-five minutes of sleep.

“My father is dead,” Adrien said blankly, hands shaking from the shock. Marinette’s expression froze and she felt at a loss for what to do.

He began sobbing in earnest and Marinette cautiously climbed down from her bed and pulled him into a comforting, but hesitant, hug.

* * *

Emilie was enraged by the actions of the Miraculous guardian. Turning over his humble home didn’t help her find those magic accessories either. In the end, she took a walk, needing to clear her head and come up with an idea of where the Miraculous were hidden.

When she returned she found the wrecked home not as she had left it. The toppled over record player was no longer toppled over and instead hung open to reveal empty containers that should’ve held the Miraculous.

She let out an angry shriek, not sure who could be behind the theft of the special powers that she deemed were rightfully hers. She needed to vent. With a target in mind, she stared down at the guardian who had killed himself before she could get information from him and carelessly ripped the sharp kitchen knife from his throat before spitting on him and leaving the wrecked hovel behind.

Her target was clear in her mind, the one person who had delayed her plan more than anyone should have the nerve to. She opened her fan and launched herself over the city to the place she knew he was. It had been all over the news, to the point that it was practically impossible to avoid.

“Emilie?!” Gabriel asked, sitting up from his prison cell bed with an expression thick with shock and surprise. “How did you get in here? This is a maximum security prison.”

“I persuaded the guards that they never saw me.” Emilie said simply enough, gazing at her nails as if they were more fascinating. “I assume you know why I’m here.”

“Multiple guards? But the miraculous powers limit you to one use per activation.” Gabriel’s eyebrows furrowed. Fear filled his eyes as he thought through her second comment. “You’d never waste your time unless you were here to kill me…”

“I broke my miraculous! Dusuu will now listen to anything I ask of him.” Emilie stated, but the amount of pleasure that she derived from this fact caused a shiver to flow down his spine. He swallowed thickly. “You ruined my life, Gabriel. My plans!”

“Your plans were hollow and cruel!” Gabriel shouted in response, glaring. “My intention was to save you from yourself!”

“And yet, you lost yourself in the process.” Emilie smirked, running her fingers along his jaw. Gabriel’s adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed once again. “The Gabriel I married would’ve never hurt people on purpose. I was almost impressed when I went through your news clippings about your akumas… We really would’ve made such a phenomenal team.”

“I never wanted to be a part of the empty world you envisioned.” he stated coldly.

“Disappointing that you were regularly beaten by a little boy in a leather catsuit, and his polka-dot princess sidekick.” Emilie mused, shaking her head.

“Well, he did inherit your resilience.” he sighed softly. Emilie paused, looking at Gabriel in disbelief.

“That child is Adrien?” her eyes narrowed and she sighed heavily. “I told you that boy would be a weakness.”

“I find that he’s actually my greatest strength. All failures I’ve made in your name, he’s made right by simply being himself.” Gabriel replied proudly.

“Why would you tell me his identity? Now I know where to pick up the Cat Miraculous.” Emilie mused, raising an eyebrow. “You do know that I’ll kill him, don’t you?”

“I’m telling you, so that when he defeats you, you know exactly who did it.” Gabriel glared at her. “He’s stronger than both of us combined.”

“He’s just a little boy who doesn’t understand the power he wields!” Emilie screamed in his face. Gabriel was aware how much the thought of Adrien being superior to her had left her unstable.

“He’s our little boy. Which makes him more than prepared to face whatever horrors you throw his way.” Gabriel said and Emilie let out an angry howl, digging her knife into his shoulder. He let out a cry of pain and fell to his knees. Emilie stared at him for a moment, smirk, before tugging at the knife and deciding she wanted to make this last

* * *

 

By the time evening had fallen, twenty thousand Parisians had met their untimely deaths at the hands of a cruel woman who was going by the nomicer Dark Plume. Her eyes were black with red irises that unsettled any onlookers.

To Ladybug and Chat, it was obvious what she was doing. She was giving them her location and daring them to face her, but with every minute that passed as they prepared for a battle that would be by far the most dangerous one they were ever in. Ladybug had just summoned the other miraculous holders.

Chat grabbed her wrist, a soft expression on his face.

“Marinette…” he murmured her name and she paused in her thoughts to look at him with a concerned expression.

“Yes, Chat?” she asked, her voice laced with the same nervousness he felt.

“We might not make it out of this battle…” he started, shaking away the tears that threatened to spill over at the thought that his mother would even try to kill the woman he loved.

“Kitty, we can’t think like that.” Marinette protested, cupping his cheek to get him to look at her. He leaned into the touch.

“I know… But just in case… I was wondering… may I kiss you?” Chat looked like he hung on her every movement and breath, the edges of his mask revealing a light pink that spread across his cheeks. Ladybug couldn’t help but shoot him a fond smile.

“...Yes, Chat, kiss me.” She agreed, swallowing and closing her eyes. Chat slowly brought his lips to hers and every fear he had about finally kissing her was made real. He wanted more than just this chaste kiss, but he couldn’t bring himself to take it. If they survived this, maybe he could take her on a date, and better yet, finally be himself around her. It seemed like a fantasy, one that he’d never achieve.

They were quiet, sitting a few feet away from one another as miraculous users trickled in. Soon everyone was gathered and huddled in as small a circle as 18 people could allow.

“Has everyone become well acquainted with their kwamis and powers?” Ladybug asked and once she had received confirmation from everyone, they made a rough strategy. There was no point in making a solid one since they had little to no idea how she would fight non civilians and their plans rarely went perfectly anyways.

Chat and Ladybug looked over the masked faces of the friends who had willingly joined them in battle and after a few moments of fighting back the unshakeable feeling that their lives would change drastically no matter how this battle went, they launched themselves into the area that Dark Plume had her reign over.

“Ladybug, Chat Noir, how nice of you to bring me all of the miraculous. You really saved me the trouble of having to look for them.” Dark Plume greeted, leaving them feeling unsettled with the smile she flashed them. She seemed to know what effect it had on them. Chat was staring at her as if he was in a trance and Emilie was staring back in unspoken acknowledgement, ignoring Ladybug and the rest of the miraculous bearers.

“We have no plans to give you the Miraculous anymore than we did to give them to Hawkmoth.” Ladybug shouted and Emilie flashed her a wicked smile.

“That’s perfectly alright with me, Ladybug.” Emilie stated coolly. “It will be all the more satisfying when I rip them off your corpses!” With that Dark Plume opened her fan with one quick motion and started to charge at them.

Nino jumped in front of her, blocking her first strike with his shield. Sabrina was first to react, cartwheeling next to Juleka and cracking the whip that her miraculous offered her above her head. Every other Miraculous wielder was keeping Dark Plume’s attention, deflecting the oncoming strikes from the peacock feathered fan.

“Supplemental Sweetness!” She exclaimed, reaching in front of her with her free hand and catching a small pill that she then handed to the butterfly-themed hero.

Juleka swallowed the pill, raising her arms and finding some small amount of satisfaction in her ability to summon a small army of white butterflies to her despite the desperate situation. They landed on her, making her purple suit disappear under of field of white fluttering wings.

“Fly to my allies, little tenshis, and strengthen them!” Juleka murmured, sending them out into the battlefield. Their wings had changed into a light lilac with golden scrolling along the edges. They sought out the other pure miraculous wielders and flew into their miraculous.

Energized by the boosted powers they had received due to the unified efforts of Sabrina and Juleka, the others began to use their own special powers. Manon’s power was to summon a iron golem bodyguard that mostly kept Dark Plume at bay if she got too close to the ten year old. It was admittedly a disappointing power for someone who wanted to contribute more, but she could get it to attack the villain when it wasn’t defending her.

“High Alert!” Max called out and suddenly he was able to feel every movement, every person on the battlefield, making it easier for him to anticipate and block moves.

“Deep Analysis!” Kim exclaimed. His version went dark except for the white auras of those around him. The one peppered in red was his enemy, and the red were her weak spots and places she was poor at defending.

“Heart to heart!” Mylene muttered nervously, waving her wand and surprised by the sensation arising in her chest. It was as if there were strings connected to everyone and through them she could feel their emotions, hopes, dreams, and fears. There were two most noticeable strings on the battlefield: Chat Noir and Dark Plume. Chat’s emotions were a whirlwind, much like everyone else’s, but his emotions were much stronger, the most prominent ones being betrayal, rage, and despair. Dark Plume was an unsettling calm, tainted with delight and irritation. There was no remorse for the many people she’d killed in the span of a day and it made Mylene’s own heart ache with pity and fright. Normally, her powers would allow her to connect with her opponent and diffuse the situation through their emotions, but that wouldn’t be possible with the heartless woman in front of them.

“Mirage!” Alya yelled and after a few short notes on her flute, five copies of each miraculous hero were made.

“Mirror Force!” Kagami growled, rapier causing the air to whistle with a few quick movements.  Four solid clones of her appeared on the field, jumping into action almost immediately upon spawning. Despite there being so many adversaries coming at her with many different attacks, Dark Plume had no trouble fending off the ninety plus miraculous wielders. For her, it was easy to tell which were illusions and which were really Max and Kim simply because the clones couldn’t anticipate her moves nor could they seem to attack her weak spots. And nine Kagamis failed to intimidate her as well. Mylene could feel the woman’s disappointment and it only served to raise her anxiety.

Dark Plume aimed for the youngest member of the team and started to strike, but in an instant, Nino was there, blocking her with his special power of protection.

“I don’t think so, dude.” He growled and the iron golem slammed into Dark Plume causing the woman to let out a grunt before shoving the golem away.

“New Skin!” Luka called and with two flicks of the paddle ball his kwami had bestowed him with, he transformed into a giant viper. He reared back, snapping at Emilie only to hit the ground hard when she sidestepped out of the way.

“Diamond Shield!” Ivan murmured, swinging his hammer at the ground. With the impact, he was coated in a thick but flexible layer of diamond, moving in front of Dark Plume to block attacks so that the others could strategize.

“What are we going to do, Chat?” Ladybug asked, blocking a blow with her yoyo. “She’s always one step ahead of us. Even with seventeen of us, we’re not making a dent…”

“I don’t know…” Chat admitted, swallowing thickly. His mind with racing with ideas, but they didn’t have enough time to prepare for such a battle. Emilie was unpredictable and ambitious, unafraid to risk anything to achieve her goals, and this made her impossible to really anticipate.

“Imagination!” Marc mumbled twirling his umbrella and opening it. An army of pixies spouted from the tip and began to target Emilie, diving at her and trying to tug at her miraculous. She waved her fan and the wind that came from it kept them at bay.

“New World!” Nathaniel called, waving his lasso around him and suddenly he was out of sight. He could see the battlefield still, he was on it, but not. It was a mirror dimension which would allow him to sneak up on the horrible woman who threatened their way of life. He rushed over and willed himself back into the other dimension behind her. She whirled on heel and pushed him away, causing him to stumble back and fall flat on his rear.  
“Shooting Star!” Alix yelled, rolling her frisbee up her arms and throwing it into the air to catch it. She was a fast moving blur on the field and she reveled in the ability. She rushed to Emilie, laying one strong strike on her before receiving another in turn.

“Ladybug, I have an idea.” Chloe murmured, pulling the spotted heroine to the side to talk with her. “Use your lucky charm to distract her.”

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug called, tossing her yoyo up into the air. A red and black polka-dot scarf drifted down to her hands and she stared at it with a furrowed brow for a second.

“Venom!” Chloe called, rushing towards Emilie. The villain only smirked, grabbing Chloe by her wrists and throwing her at Ladybug.

Chloe and Marinette collided and Ladybug fell to the ground, touched by Queen Bee’s paralyzing power instead. Panic seized Adrien’s heart but and he focused himself on his mother, knowing that she was the biggest threat to Marinette now.

Rose was heartbroken by the devastation that Emilie was causing. The sounds of battle made her head ache and she couldn’t take it any longer. She used her ribbon and twirling it around her.

“Pacifism Pixie Dust!” she shouted and from the tip of her ribbon wand, a shower of glitter rained over the battlefield. Everyone halted, panting heavily from the coming on fifteen minutes that they had been battling constantly. Thanks to Sabrina and Juleka, they didn’t have to worry about their transformations dropping within the usual five minutes. Still, Emilie’s relentless defense and offense combination had left them all winded.

A twisted smile appeared on her face and everyone shivered at it. Why did she look like she was so sure she was about to win?

“I tire of this. With eighteen of you, I had hoped for a challenge. Oh well…” Emilie shrugged, fingers brushing over the pendant on her coat. “Kill each other and the one who gives me the Miraculous will get to rule by my side…”

A haze clogged everyone’s mind. Their actions were no longer their own and they launched towards one another, landing harsh blows with the intent to kill.

Chat’s eyes fell on Ivan. Taking him out would definitely earn the approval of Dark Plume. And with him out of the picture, killing everyone else would be child’s play. Ivan seemed to be having similar thoughts because the hulking young man charged toward the feline-themed foe and they both readied their first blows.

Chat clawed at Ivan’s arm, digging his claws deeper and deeper into the layers of strong muscle. Ivan let out a growl, drew his other fist back and punched Chat hard, hard enough to knock Chat off and out. Thinking he’d come back and finish this unconscious cat after he dealt with the other heroes, Ivan turned his attention to another part of the field.

Adrien must’ve only been unconscious for a few seconds because soon he was open eyed, back to his senses, and horrified to see the eager way his friends were trying to kill one another. His eyes fell on Chloe who had her hands wrapped around a paralyzed Ladybug’s neck, the spotted heroine trying her best to breathe, eyes fluttering as she tried to fight back to no luck. He rushed over, letting out a growl at Chloe, pushing her off and drawing his baton.

“She’s mine.” he hissed. He couldn’t blow his cover. Pretending to still be possessed by Emilie’s powers of persuasions was the only way to get close to her. Almost immediately upon Chloe letting go of Ladybug, Alya took her place and Adrien knew he could only save Marinette if he broke the spell on all his friends.

Chloe and Chat grappled and soon they were exchanging blows a few feet away from Dark Plume, who seemed rather pleased at the chaos she had caused. He received an elbow to his face from Chloe, which caused his nose to bleed and he almost wished he was still under Emilie’s spell just so the pain would disappear.

“Cataclysm!” Chat shouted, taking a swing at Chloe and missing on purpose. His hand landed square on Emilie’s chest and she gasped for air, looking down at a wound that was fast spreading all over her chest like a nasty infection. Wish just his hand, he had reduced his mother’s chest to ribbons.

Her breathing was labored as she looked up at her son who was standing over her. When had she fallen? The pain was everywhere and her body convulsed with shock, only causing her blood to spill from her faster. He knelt beside her, holding her close to his chest.

“Goodbye, mother… I’m sorry it had to end this way…” he whispered. She gargled as if she was going to say something and finally her body went limp.

With her final breath, his friends finally came back to their senses. He fell sick, his world spinning and then everything went black with one last thought on his mind.

He’d killed his mother to save his friends.


End file.
